News

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.

On 31 March, TDF is bringing nearly fifty DAB+ transmitters into service to ensure the digital broadcast of national radio stations (the M1 and M2 multiplexes). This new phase of large-scale roll-out enhances coverage along major motorways and in many neighbouring urban areas, with a particularly marked increase in coverage in the South-West. Nearly 30 transmitters have now been activated in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie. Further roll-outs are also taking place in Grand-Est, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Brittany, Normandy, Pays de la Loire and Hauts-de-France. This new phase of deployment relies in particular on several of TDF’s flagship sites. These are all landmark sites that embody the reliability and national sovereignty of the TDF network.

Boom Radio spin-of station, Boom Rock is to broadcast on three DAB multiplex networks covering London. The station launched two years ago online, and is one of three stations in the Boom portfolio, alongside the main Boom Radio station along with the 50s and easy listening service, Boom Light. Boom chief executive Phil Riley commented: “The response to Boom Rock has indicated the scope for the station. “Having rolled out Boom Radio nationally on DAB – and Boom Light in many cities, it’s great to be in a position to expose Boom Rock now to a wider audience”. The London launch for Boom Rock will be on Thursday, 2nd April.

WDR intends to strategically reposition its youth radio stations in order to specifically target younger people, particularly those with international backgrounds. WDR’s statutory remit stipulates that one of its programmes must continue to focus on intercultural coexistence. Alongside the well-known youth channel 1LIVE, the existing COSMO is to be developed into a channel for the culturally diverse and urban community, in which hip-hop – the world’s largest and most unifying youth culture – plays a central role. The new third channel, which, as before, can be accessed online and via DAB+ as 1LIVE DIGGI, is intended to target the growing group of young people who, in a digitally overstimulated media world, long for peace, security and a calm media environment.

Last year, several radio stations in Schleswig-Holstein switched their broadcasts from FM to DAB+ digital radio, including RADIO BOB! rockt Schleswig-Holstein, Deutschlandfunk and Deutschlandfunk Kultur. The latest ma 2026 Audio I study provides insights into audience reach trends in Germany’s northernmost state as well as at national level. Among other things, it contains data on how many listeners tuned in to each programme within the so-called widest audience reach (WHK) over the past four weeks. This figure indicates how well-known a radio brand is and how many people it reaches. Deutschlandfunk was able to significantly increase its reach in the WHK by 8.7 per cent (previous year: 401,000 listeners).

For more than a decade, Jean-Baptiste Tuzet has been building Crooner Radio as a deliberately alternative radio project, combining musical elegance, technological innovation and editorial independence. Launched in France, Crooner Radio is a niche, premium music broadcaster built around jazz, swing and crooner-style repertoire, distributed via DAB+, online streaming and visual-enhanced digital channels. After more than 10 years of advocating for DAB+, Tuzet says the technology has finally become a credible driver of modernization and reach. With the majority of new cars in Europe now equipped with DAB+ receivers, he argues that the platform allows Crooner Radio to reach a mobile, high-value audience.