News

Bauer Media Group has joined forces with major broadcasters across Europe and Australia to support a new international initiative aimed at keeping radio accessible in connected cars. Revealed today at the WorldDAB Automotive 2025 conference in Madrid, the joint vision called Radio Ready sets out three guiding principles: that radio must remain prominent and convenient, apps should be easy to find, and voice assistants must reliably support access to radio content. The move comes at a time when over 80% of in-car audio listening is still to radio, yet evolving vehicle technology risks making it harder for drivers to find and use traditional broadcast services. The Radio Ready initiative marks the first time public and commercial broadcasters have come together on a united strategy.

A group of European broadcasters have collaborated to launch the Radio Ready initiative, which aims to support radio listening in connected cars. The working group currently comprises the Association of European Radios, Bauer Media, BBC, European Broadcasting Union, Global, NRJ, Radio France, RTL and Sveriges Radio, with support from Antenna Group and Radio Hamburg. CRA, the organisation representing commercial radio in Australia, has also signed up to the initiative. Marking the first time commercial and public-service broadcasters have joined forces for a unified message, Radio Ready was announced at the WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid on Thursday.

A new survey looking at the state and future of small-scale DAB in the UK is now live. The project is being led by Dr Lawrie Hallett from the University of Bedfordshire, who is inviting anyone involved in or interested in the sector to take part. Lawrie told RadioToday the aim is to “bring together the widest possible range of views and ideas about the state of the sector and to examine opportunities for its future development”. The research is open to multiplex operators, station operators, and others with a role or interest in small-scale DAB. The goal is to record a current snapshot of the sector and explore how it might develop in the years ahead, particularly in ways that support community and smaller commercial broadcasters.

Public and private broadcasters joined forces at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid to deliver a unified message to the automotive sector: broadcast radio must remain prominent in the evolving in-car environment with a warning that radio as a medium could “disappear” if this does not happen. The unique event brought together almost 200 senior executives from across the global automotive and broadcast industries to explore the future of radio in the digital dashboard. Public and private broadcasters joined forces today at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid to deliver a unified message to the automotive sector: broadcast radio must remain prominent in the evolving in-car environment.

Global, Bauer, the BBC and other public and commercial broadcasters have made a united call to the car industry to ensure that radio remains easy to access and prominent in connected vehicles. The message was delivered at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid, where close to 200 executives from the broadcast and automotive sectors gathered to discuss the future of radio in the car. Tobias Nielsen from Bauer Media and Tomas Granryd from the European Broadcasting Union launched a new global initiative called “Radio Ready for Connected Cars”, which aims to keep radio freely available and prominent in digital dashboards. Earlier today, leaders from Bauer, the EBU and the Association of European Radios took part in a panel focused on collaboration with the automotive sector.

Bauer Media Group today joined the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on stage in Madrid at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 to unveil a new, unified vision for how broadcasters and car manufacturers can support radio listening in connected cars. This strategic alignment comes at a crucial time, with radio accounting for over 80% of in-car audio consumption today. The vision, Radio Ready, centres around three key principles: firstly, radio should be prominent and convenient; secondly, radio apps should be discoverable; and thirdly, voice assistants should be reliable. The goal, ultimately, is to secure and promote radio’s place in cars as automotive technology — and the needs of listeners — continue to evolve.

On 16/06/2025, the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy published a notice regarding a tender to select a network operator holding a national digital radio broadcasting licence that would make available the transmission capacity on a DAB+ multiplex with a coverage of not less than 70% of the population. The contract, with a duration of up to 19 years, will be awarded at the lowest price, with a deadline for applications set for 23 July 2025. The tender also represents an important benchmark for the economic and technical value of DAB+ transmission capacity in the Italian market.

DIGIDIA has added a major feature to its DAB BI 2.0 DAB Tunnel Break-in product. The DAB BI 2.0 can break-in emergency messages into up to 4 different DAB Ensembles. It is now possible to switch each DAB Ensemble independently to the appropriate emergency message for each ensemble. In the previous version all DAB Ensembles switched at the same time. With the new version, tunnel operators can serve different segments in one tunnel, or they can choose to serve separate tunnel tubes with separate messages. This capability makes the whole system more compact and affordable as it is served with just one break-in system, The DIGIDIA DAB BI consists of internally developed PCIe express boards for the RF frontends end installed on a 4RU PC Platform. The core of the product is a SDR based software based on Windows, that makes it flexible and easily adaptable for new environments. The DAB BI 2.0 is one of the most popular and reliable DAB Tunnel Break in systems and installed in Norway, Switzerland, Belgium and soon in Slovakia.

RTV Slovenia today officially opened a new transmitter on the outskirts of Kuštanovci in Goričko, which will significantly improve the coverage of the eastern and southern part of Pomurje with DAB+ digital radio and FM signals. The new transmitter replaces the old one in Pečarovci. Natalija Gorščak, President of the Management Board of RTV Slovenia, said, ‘RTV Slovenia is aware of its importance in the area of building key infrastructure, so we are pleased that we have succeeded in installing a new transmitter that will enable broadcasting via the DAB+ system, while at the same time improving the reception of the FM signal in the north-eastern part of Slovenia.’

Bauer has launched a new version of its UK brand in Ireland with the unannounced arrival of Greatest Hits Radio Ireland. The station has started broadcasting on the FáilteDAB multiplex, playing classic hits and featuring a line-up of presenters including Debbie Allen and Liam Quigley. There is currently no reference to the station on Bauer Media Audio Ireland’s official website or social media platforms, and no public launch has been confirmed. Despite using the same name and sung jingle package as the UK version of Greatest Hits Radio, the Irish service is airing separate programming. There are no shared shows with GHR UK, including its most well-known presenter Ken Bruce.