News

Radio World: You and others have preached the importance of good metadata management for stations to stay competitive in the amazing new dashboards of today. How well do you think the message has sunk in? Laurence Harrison, chief partnerships officer for Radioplayer Worldwide: "The importance of robust metadata management cannot be overstated, especially in today’s visually enhanced dashboards. It’s not just about sound anymore; it’s about delivering a complete and engaging radio experience. At Radioplayer, we’ve championed this cause for years. While many broadcasters recognize the need for quality metadata, there’s still considerable room for improvement.

Commercial Radio and Audio (CRA)‘s HEARD returned for 2025 in Sydney with an all-star lineup and new research from Analytic Partners showcasing radio’s ability to deliver a long-term return on investment (ROI) through brand-focused advertising. A recent campaign from Nespresso was used as part of a radio trial testing cross-channel impact through sustained, creative brand messaging. It achieved a 37% improvement in their radio ROI year-on-year (YOY), elevating the brand’s digital video by 13%, socials by 11%, and search by 4%. Lizzie Young, Chief Executive Officer of CRA said: “Radio delivers more than reach; it drives emotional connection, creative synergy, and measurable impact. By evolving advertising approaches to leverage audio’s distinctive strengths, brands can unlock new levels of performance and establish deeper connections with their audience.”

Radio listeners in the Osnabrück region will have even better reception of NDR's digital radio programmes from Tuesday, 11 February 2025. NDR is putting another DAB+ transmitter into operation - this time at the Osnabrück-Engter transmitter site. DAB+ coverage will improve in the Ostercappeln and Löningen regions as well as in the area around Ankumer Höhe. The NDR radio programmes on block 10A can now be received better, especially inside buildings. NDR's DAB+ programme offering includes NDR 1, NDR 2, NDR Kultur, NDR Info and N-JOY, all of which can still be received via FM. Radio listeners can also tune in to NDR Schlager, NDR Blue and NDR Info Spezial exclusively on digital radio.

Listeners in the communities of Grassau, Marquartstein, Reit im Winkl and Unterwössen (Traunstein district) may have to choose different frequencies on their FM radio on 18 March. Due to a technical changeover, Bayerischer Rundfunk will only broadcast its FM programmes BAYERN 1, Bayern 2, BAYERN 3, BR-Klassik and BR24 for the region via the Wendelstein and Hochberg transmitters in future. The reason for the frequency change is the decommissioning of the FM filler transmitter Reit im Winkl am Walmberg for economic reasons and to achieve greater energy efficiency in broadcasting.

On 13 February, World Radio Day commemorates the founding of United Nations Radio in 1946 - and thus 79 years of radio as a reliable source of information. Even in the digital age, the medium remains indispensable. DAB+ radio, the digital successor to FM, will ensure that future generations will also have free and non-discriminatory access to relevant news. According to the EBU, terrestrial radio is the most trusted medium in 28 out of 31 European countries. The share of digital radio receivers is growing continuously. In 2024, over 1.2 million DAB+ receivers were sold in Germany (GfK retail panel), which corresponds to 50 per cent of all radio receivers sold - a significant increase compared to 2020, when the share was 35 per cent.

On 16 December 2024, at a meeting attended by the entire broadcasting industry, radio publishers made a commitment to step up their communications around DAB+. This decision marks an important step in promoting this innovative technology, which offers superior sound quality and access to a greater number of stations. From 8 to 22 February 2025, the public, private and community radio stations that are members of the ‘Ensemble pour le DAB+’ initiative will be broadcasting information messages on the benefits of DAB+. These spots will be broadcast several times a day on each of the participating stations, representing more than 95% of the radio audience in France. The aim of the campaign is to make listeners aware of the many benefits of DAB+.

In autumn 2024, just before SSR's FM switch-off, the Digital Migration working group once again collected figures on radio usage. The results show that the majority of the Swiss population has already switched over to digital radio: at the last measurement in autumn 2024, only 8% of listeners listened to the radio exclusively via FM, while 83 out of every 100 minutes were listened to via DAB+ or the internet. Digital usage has reached a new peak since the start of the study. Digital broadcast channels were used to a similar extent (DAB+: 42%; IP: 41%). The majority of radio use still takes place at home: 60% of minutes listened to are spent at home, 20% at work and almost 14% in the car. This breakdown has remained stable over the years.

In Italy, following the issuance by the Ministry of Enterprise and Industry of the definitive rights of use of the radio frequencies for digital radio broadcasting, each consortium assigned the rights received the imposition of coverage obligations in the assigned basin (or sub-basin), equal to 40% within two years for mobile coverage and at least 60% of the population within four years and at least 70% of the population within five years from the assignment. The consortia of local radio stations Media DAB and Space DAB, only a few months after the issuance of the final allocations, informed the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy that they had already completed their coverage obligations.

Bauer Media Audio UK is celebrating an impressive reach of 23.4m weekly listeners (+0.7% YoY) in the latest RAJAR results. These Q4 2024 figures reinforce Bauer’s position as a leader in the industry, contributing significantly to the overall commercial radio reach of 40m people. A third of Bauer’s listening is via connected devices including smart speakers, web and app, with a further 54% of listening on DAB. Bauer is also home to three of the top five digital commercial stations: #1 KISSTORY, #2 Absolute Radio, and #4 Absolute 80s.

News Broadcasting continues to impress in the latest round of RAJAR results - for the survey period ending 15 December 2024. The group, including national brands talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK, Times Radio, and Talk, as well as U105 in Northern Ireland, delivered a strong 7.7% year-on-year increase in reach to 6.6 million weekly listeners, with cumulative listening hours of 43.9 million. News UK EVP, President of Broadcasting, Scott Taunton, said: “News Broadcasting continues to set the pace for digital audience growth, reaching 6.6 million highly engaged adults every week and boasting an industry-leading 86% of total listening hours from streaming and DAB platforms.”