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The Corsican Federation of Community Radio Stations brought its member stations together in Cervioni to discuss an issue that is raising questions among community radio stations: the transition to DAB+. ARCOM (the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication) launched a consultation and a call for contributions, which the Federation's partner radio stations followed via videoconference before meeting in Cervioni to discuss this fundamental change, which is scheduled to officially begin in January 2028. During this meeting in Cervioni, the FCRA radio stations jointly assessed how to approach the technical and financial aspects of the DAB+ rollout in Corsica.

Several months ago, Deutschlandradio announced plans to expand its first national DAB+ network with 12 transmission sites by 2025. In recent weeks, three additional transmission sites have indeed gone online. The Haardtkopf transmitter in Hunsrück, for example, was relaunched at the beginning of October. The second new transmission site in Eberswalde in Brandenburg acts as a ‘booster’. The first national multiplex was already receivable here from Berlin, but indoor reception was rather poor. With a transmission power of 5 kW, reception is now perfect indoors as well. The third new location has been online since the beginning of September. This is the Neustrelitz transmitter in the south of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which also improves indoor reception or makes it possible for the first time.

Weekly audio listening in the United Kingdom remains strong, albeit varied between age and gender. That’s the key takeaway from RAJAR’s Summer 2025 audio survey, known across Britain as “MIDAS.” The Summer 2025 wave of MIDAS finds that the weekly reach for audio consumption that is solely listened to and not viewed remains “very high” with 55 million adults — or 96% of the UK population (adults 15+) doing so in a week. Listeners spend on average 28.9 hours a week engaging in their favorite audio type. The total number of weekly hours listened to audio is around 1.6 billion; this has increased by 7% since MIDAS Spring 2023. Audio listening is defined as on-demand music, podcasts, owned music, audiobooks and live radio. And, live radio dominates.

Graham Dixon writes: In this column, I have not written much about DAB+, but it’s worth highlighting its continuing expansion across Europe and beyond. Looking around Europe, the situation continues to be quite encouraging. Things are finally moving forward in Ireland and Portugal, with trials underway. Austria has massively increased the number of stations on DAB+, while Switzerland stopped FM broadcasting at the end of last year. Meanwhile, regarding functionality, the Germans have introduced an Automatic Safety Alert system, which can deliver warnings without needing online connectivity. It all sounds really positive! So, I was pleased to speak to Jacqueline Bierhorst, president of WorldDAB...

From 4 October, radio station Arrow Bluesbox Radio can be listened to in a larger part of the Netherlands via DAB+. Arrow Bluesbox Radio plays a mix of blues, blues rock, Americana and country music. Until now, the radio station could be received via a number of local DAB+ networks in parts of the Randstad and the Eindhoven region. As of today, the company behind Arrow Bluesbox Radio, Blended Broken Beats B.V., has put its capacity on a number of regional DAB+ networks, acquired earlier this year, into use. As a result, the radio station can now be listened to in South Holland and Zeeland via channel 5B, in Utrecht and Gelderland via channel 12B and in Overijssel via channel 6A.

Since 2017, the party station has established itself as the leading provider of party music and has enjoyed continued success in the radio industry. In the latest reach comparison, RADIO BOLLERWAGEN more than doubled its reach: The station now has over half a million listeners every day who tune in to its program focusing on "Xtreme Party Music." Harald Gehrung, CEO of ffn-mediengruppe: "As a participant in several Love Parades in the late 1990s, I know that Berlin is where the best parties happen. From now on, we'll be providing the best soundtrack for them with RADIO BOLLERWAGEN!" Mathias Bartels, editor-in-chief of RADIO BOLLERWAGEN: "Finally, Brandenburg and the capital are also rocking."

At its meeting on September 30, 2025, the Media Council of the Saxony State Media Authority (SLM) announced a tender for free digital terrestrial transmission capacities on the Saxony-wide DAB+ multiplex, the regional DAB+ multiplex serving the independent city of Leipzig and the districts of Leipzig and North Saxony, and the local DAB+ multiplexes serving the urban areas of Leipzig, Chemnitz, Dresden, and Freiberg. The DAB+ coverage network for the Free State of Saxony is operated by MEDIA BROADCAST GmbH. The regional/local DAB+ coverage network is operated by UPLINK NETWORK GmbH. The call for tenders is expected to be published in mid-October 2025 in the Saxon Official Gazette and on the SLM website.

Spain’s Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service has opened a public consultation on a draft royal decree to promote terrestrial digital radio using DAB+ technology. According to the ministry, the initiative marks a key step in the modernization of Spanish radio. The State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, which published the text, states that DAB+ enables more efficient spectrum use, stronger resistance to interference, and advanced features such as multichannel audio. It also notes that the technology will support the Automatic Security Alert system, which delivers localized emergency messages voiced by announcers, with additional text and images displayed on receivers.

Radio Proglas announced that it would cease broadcasting on its Znojmo FM frequency at the end of September. Specifically, this concerned the Znojmo/Hradiště transmitter on the 107.2 MHz frequency. The shutdown took place on Tuesday, September 30, at exactly 12:04 p.m. Listeners in the region will still be able to tune in to the station via digital DAB+ broadcasting, either from the RTI cz or Teleko DAB network. For Proglas listeners in Znojmo, however, the main alternative remains reception via the DAB+ system, the RTI cz network, or Teleko digital. The digital multiplex offers stable broadcasting in higher sound quality. Digital signal coverage in South Moravia has been strengthened over the long term with new transmitters.

Good news for all Schlager fans: Schlager Radio can finally be heard throughout the state of Brandenburg and in Berlin via antenna – on DAB+ channel 10B. Until now, our programme was only available in parts of Brandenburg, but since June we have had an official licence from the Berlin-Brandenburg Media Authority (mabb). This means we can now reach all listeners in Berlin and throughout the state of Brandenburg. Programme director Normen Sträche: ‘We are delighted to now be available to everyone in Brandenburg – with the best Schlager music, the latest news from the state and reporters who report directly from the scene.’