United Kingdom - Current situation - History
19.05.2016
Digital Radio Switchover
The UK radio industry is committed to a digital future for radio and is working towards a Digital Radio Switchover. Click here to watch a video of Ed Vaizey, UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries speaking at the WorldDAB General Assembly 2015 in London and click here to read the speech he gave at the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU, Brussels, 26th November 2014, at the conference: "Digital Audio Broadcasting: A sustainable future broadcasting model for Europe".
Government criteria for setting a date for digital radio switchover are:
- Digital listening share to reach 50% of all listening hours
- When local commercial and national DAB coverage reaches FM equivalence
The DCMS Digital Radio Action Plan has now been completed. Details can be found on the U.K Government website.
DIGITAL RADIO FACTS AND FIGURES:
- DAB listening and ownership grew in Q1 2016 boosting all digital listening to 44.1%. (RAJAR Q1 2016)
- There was growth across all digital platforms, with DAB growing its share of listening to 30.9% and now accounting for over 70% of total digital listening. (RAJAR Q1 2016)
- For the first time, digital listening in home increased to over 50%, with 51.5% of all radio listening in home being to a digital platform, ahead of listening on AM/FM (48.5%). (RAJAR Q1 2016)
- Digital share of national station listening increased by 9% to 52.9% (RAJAR Q1 2016)
- DAB ownership grew by 14% year on year to 55.7% of all households (RAJAR Q1 2016)
- The latest data from CAP/SMMT shows that 82.1% of new cars sold in Q1 2016 came with DAB as standard (CAP/SMMT Q1 2016).
Second National DAB Multiplex - Digital Two
UK media regulator Ofcom accepted the Sound Digital consortium's bid to run the new Digital Two national commercial DAB network. The consortium is made up of Bauer Media Group, UTV Media and Arqiva (who own and run Digital One). The second national DAB digital radio multiplex sits alongside the existing Digital One network, and all the local digital radio platforms that currently operate. Digital Two features an additional 15-18 new DAB stations with potentially up to 30% of the network using DAB+. The new digital-only stations launched in early 2016. The launch of the new digital radio stations and the Digital Two network will significantly increase demand for DAB digital radios.
Ender's Analysis report: "Radio - set for a digital future?"
Drive to Digital: NOW Conference
On Friday 6 February 2015 the Drive to Digital: NOW conference was held with a series of announcements from Ed Vaizey MP, Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy about digital radio policy and progress. The Minister outlined how the switchover criteria for coverage and listening could be achieved over the next 2 years. The Digital Radio UK press release is available to download here.
Download the presentations from Drive to Digital:NOW
29.04.2016
Digital Radio Switchover
The UK radio industry is committed to a digital future for radio and is working towards a Digital Radio Switchover. Click here to read the speech presented by Ed Vaizey, UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, at the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU, Brussels, 26th November 2014, at the conference: "Digital Audio Broadcasting: A sustainable future broadcasting model for Europe".
Government criteria for setting a date for digital radio switchover are:
- Digital listening share to reach 50% of all listening hours
- When local commercial and national DAB coverage reaches FM equivalence
The DCMS Digital Radio Action Plan has now been completed. Details can be found on the U.K Government website.
DIGITAL RADIO FACTS AND FIGURES:
- DAB listening and ownership grew in Q3 2015 boosting all digital listening to nearly 42% (41.9%)
- Listening on all digital platforms grew year on year led by a 14% increase in DAB listening (to 286m hours from 250m hours in Q3 2014) (RAJAR Q3 2015)
- DAB ownership grew by 10% year on year to 53.6% of all households (from 48.7% in Q3 2014) (RAJAR Q3 2015)
- The latest data from CAP/SMMT shows that 77.2% of new cars sold in Q1 2016 came with DAB as standard, this was 26% more than Q1 2015 and 18% more than the previous highest month (September 2015).
Second National DAB Multiplex - Digital Two
UK media regulator Ofcom accepted the Sound Digital consortium's bid to run the new Digital Two national commercial DAB network. The consortium is made up of Bauer Media Group, UTV Media and Arqiva (who own and run Digital One). The second national DAB digital radio multiplex sits alongside the existing Digital One network, and all the local digital radio platforms that currently operate. Digital Two features an additional 15-18 new DAB stations with potentially up to 30% of the network using DAB+. Ofcom anticipates that the new stations would launch in early 2016. The launch of the new digital radio stations and the Digital Two network will significantly increase demand for DAB digital radios.
Ender's Analysis report: "Radio - set for a digital future?"
Drive to Digital: NOW Conference
On Friday 6 February the Drive to Digital: NOW conference was held with a series of announcements from Ed Vaizey MP, Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy about digital radio policy and progress. The Minister outlined how the switchover criteria for coverage and listening could be achieved over the next 2 years. The Digital Radio UK press release is available to download here.
Download the presentations from Drive to Digital:NOW
20.01.2016
Digital Radio Switchover
The UK radio industry is committed to a digital future for radio and is working towards a Digital Radio Switchover. Click here to read the speech presented by Ed Vaizey, UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, at the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU, Brussels, 26th November 2014, at the conference: "Digital Audio Broadcasting: A sustainable future broadcasting model for Europe".
Government criteria for setting a date for digital radio switchover are:
- Digital listening share to reach 50% of all listening hours
- When local commercial and national DAB coverage reaches FM equivalence
The DCMS Digital Radio Action Plan has now been completed. Details can be found on the U.K Government website.
DIGITAL RADIO FACTS AND FIGURES:
- DAB listening and ownership grew in Q3 2015 boosting all digital listening to nearly 42% (41.9%)
- Listening on all digital platforms grew year on year led by a 14% increase in DAB listening (to 286m hours from 250m hours in Q3 2014) (RAJAR Q3 2015)
- DAB ownership grew by 10% year on year to 53.6% of all households (from 48.7% in Q3 2014) (RAJAR Q3 2015)
- 55% of all listeners (30 million people) listen on digital platforms (RAJAR Q2 2015)
- Listening to analogue radio declined to a new low of 53.7% (RAJAR Q2 2015)
- Digital listening in cars grew by 48% year on year and now accounts for almost 17% of all in car listening (RAJAR Q2 2015)
- In London digital listening extended its lead over analogue listening (47.3% vs 45.9%) (RAJAR Q2 2015)
- Commercial radio enjoyed strong digital growth, attracting a higher digital share than the BBC for the first time (40.1% vs 39.5%) (RAJAR Q2 2015)
- There were record-breaking performances by digital-only stations Absolute 80s and Kisstory (RAJAR Q2 2015)
- The latest data from CAP/SMMT shows that 80.1% of new cars sold in Q1 2016 came with DAB as standard, compared to 61.2% in Q4 2014 and 7.5% in Q4 2010.
Second National DAB Multiplex - Digital Two
UK media regulator Ofcom accepted the Sound Digital consortium's bid to run the new Digital Two national commercial DAB network. The consortium is made up of Bauer Media Group, UTV Media and Arqiva (who own and run Digital One). The second national DAB digital radio multiplex will sit alongside the existing Digital One network, and all the local digital radio platforms that currently operate. Digital Two will feature an additional 15-18 new DAB stations with potentially up to 30% of the network using DAB+. Ofcom anticipates that the new stations would launch in early 2016. The launch of the new digital radio stations and the Digital Two network will significantly increase demand for DAB digital radios.
Ender's Analysis report: "Radio - set for a digital future?"
Drive to Digital: NOW Conference
On Friday 6 February the Drive to Digital: NOW conference was held with a series of announcements from Ed Vaizey MP, Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy about digital radio policy and progress. The Minister outlined how the switchover criteria for coverage and listening could be achieved over the next 2 years. The Digital Radio UK press release is available to download here.