News

GlitterBeam is extending its reach across Kent and South London on DAB while opening a new studio in Chatham. The station will now be available on small scale DAB multiplexes across the region, increasing access in the South East. Alongside the expansion, a new studio which has been named Auravine, has opened at the Dockside Outlet Centre in Chatham. The space is designed to support live broadcasting, interviews and podcast production in one location. Eugenio Ceriello, co-founder of GlitterBeam, said: “Expanding on DAB across the whole of Kent and South London allows us to reach more listeners than ever before, while Auravine represents our vision for the future of GlitterBeam.”

The manager of the public company Infraestructures i Serveis de Telecomunicacions i Certificació (ISTEC), Juan Alegre, has announced the launch of a technical evaluation programme for various DAB+ digital terrestrial radio transmitters, which drives the Valencian Community’s preparations for digital radio and actively positions it within the process of transforming the radio sector in Spain. “These tests,” said Juan Alegre, “enable us to ensure that the technology we implement in our region meets the highest quality standards. Laboratory evaluation is a key step in guaranteeing an efficient, sustainable transition to digital radio, aimed at offering the best possible experience to the public.”

Radio France listeners will have to adjust to some changes by the end of the summer: France Musique will only be broadcast digitally in certain areas, as part of a gradual shift away from traditional radio. “We will be telling listeners: get yourselves DAB+ receivers from tomorrow,” explains the public broadcaster’s chair, Sibyle Veil. The aim is both to “modernise the distribution” of radio and to achieve savings, against a backdrop of severe budgetary constraints, Sibyle Veil had told journalists beforehand. Around 300 FM transmitters, representing 12% of Radio France’s network, will be returned to the audiovisual regulator, Arcom, yielding annual savings of €3.9 million. The authority will be able to reallocate them.

Digital terrestrial radio continues to roll out across France with the launch today in Cherbourg of 25 national radio stations available on DAB+. These initial launches in Cherbourg will be followed by the launch of 26 additional local, regional and themed radio stations by the end of the year, providing the public with a comprehensive, pluralistic and diverse range of services. Ultimately, the digital radio offering in Cherbourg and more broadly across the Cotentin region will therefore comprise 52 stations—local, regional and national, public and private—some of which will be new to listeners, thereby doubling the current FM offering in the area. More than 70% of the population now has access to DAB+.

WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst speaks to Ivan Laskov, Head of Content for Radio Express, at Radiodays Europe 2026 in Riga about why broadcast radio - and DAB+ in particular - matters. "It gives radio reach, resilience and control," she says. "And it supports safety, protects language and your culture, and it keeps distribution in our own hands as broadcasters - I think that's very important. You have to have a broadcast backbone as we've seen in Spain when there's power outages. As we've seen through terrorism attacks, and extreme weather, broadcast towers are more robust and resilient and DAB+ is. It also includes ASA automatic safety alert - which will be implemented in Germany. That's now part of their warning system in the country."

Since 2 April 2026, residents in the north of the Manche department have been able to access a new way of listening to the radio: DAB+. Initially, 25 radio stations are available. “Cherbourg-en-Cotentin was the last town in France with over 50,000 inhabitants that did not yet have DAB+,” points out Raphaël Eyraud, president of TowerCast, which manages around ten transmitters in the department. A launch ceremony took place at the foot of the 116-metre-high transmitter in Digosville, near Cherbourg. "DAB+ is a real boon, a modernisation of radio. Radio is an everyday medium, and it needs this digital upgrade. The aim now is to convince listeners to switch from FM to DAB+,” says Charles-Emmanuel Bon, chairman of the “Ensemble pour le DAB+” association.

Belgium’s French-language public broadcaster, RTBF, could play a role in a new government-led crisis radio service designed to deliver urgent public information during emergencies. The issue came to light following a report by Sudinfo, a news platform focused on regional and local coverage in southern Belgium. The report said the broadcaster is considering launching a crisis radio channel to ensure the flow of critical information to the public during emergencies. The proposal was subsequently discussed on March 31 during a meeting of the parliamentary commission of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. The concept involves a dedicated radio channel using RTBF’s broadcast infrastructure, with DAB+ identified as the preferred distribution platform.

In an age when the public’s attention to traditional media has become a precious resource, the radio industry too must gain a better understanding of where and how radio programmes and adverts truly manage to make an impact and capture the public’s attention. The study “Oidos que sienten, cerebros que escuchan” (Ears that hear, brains that listen), found that in the car, sustained auditory attention spans are almost three times longer than at home. Hence the conclusion: for broadcasters and industry operators, it becomes strategic to enhance this context, optimizing programming and advertising during drive-time and, above all, ensuring adequate visibility and accessibility of the radio on in-car systems, which are increasingly dominated by digital platforms.

A new station will combine sports discussion with music when it launches next month. Track Radio will begin broadcasting on 4th May, offering a mix of talk and music aimed at listeners who enjoy in-depth conversation about daily sporting stories. The station will be available on London DAB and online from its studios in Notting Hill, with plans to expand further. Short hourly news bulletins will also feature, and the station says it will cover men’s and women’s sport together rather than separating them into different programmes. Track Radio is owned by Track Record Corporation and led by Iain Macintosh, previously CEO of Muddy Knees Media. The station is advised by non-executive director Jonathan Arendt, who was launch director of XFM and CEO of Jazz FM.

The Digital Broadcasting Symposium (DBS) 2026 is now underway, bringing together broadcasters, technologists, and industry leaders to explore the evolving media landscape in what has been described as the “Rising Synthetic Era.” The event commenced with a series of pre-conference workshops on Day 0, setting the tone for the discussions ahead. Together, they highlighted the rapid convergence of technology, content, and audience behaviour. The programme includes on 1 April the "WorldDAB Workshop: Designing resilient DAB+ digital radio networks," moderated by Dr. Les Sabel, Chair, WorldDAB APAC Technical Group.