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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.”

Last week, Broadcast Partners completed and commissioned a brand new DAB+ transmitter installation for the radio stations in allotment 33 on the Cellnex broadcast tower in The Hague at 5C. Thanks to this transmitter on 5C, listeners in the Hague region can now experience the comfort of optimised DAB+ reception for themselves. In addition, radio stations in the Hague region have the unique opportunity to test signal strength and geographical coverage of DAB+ distribution by Broadcast Partners in their target area in practice themselves. This will enable them to make an informed choice about their future digital radio broadcasts.

FM ceased broadcasting in Switzerland on 31 December, marking a definitive transition to DAB+. SSR is strongly encouraging the adoption of this technology, highlighting its many advantages: better audio quality, optimised coverage and reduced environmental impact. A change that is transforming the way we listen to radio every day. The recent closure of FM on 31 December has enabled SRG to accelerate its digital transition. The resources freed up are being reinvested in new services such as Play applications, podcasts and streaming. The integration of DAB+ with voice assistants and in-car multimedia systems is also opening up new opportunities. Thanks to these developments, SRG is rapidly adapting its offering to new listening habits and is offering more dynamic formats, particularly for younger audiences.

Matt Deegan writes: UK radio has been on a long march to consolidation in ownership alongside an explosion in new stations driven by the growth in listening to DAB Digital Radio and streaming. Analogue listening (AM/FM) now only accounts for 27.8% of radio’s consumption here. Indeed, streaming radio is neck and neck with analogue (with a 27.0% share). Listening on a DAB Digital Radio leads the pack, 35.9m radio listeners tune in that way, and it accounts for 42.7% of listening. This change in behaviour has led commercial radio’s big groups - Bauer and Global - to really jump on station expansion, particularly spin-offs from their existing brands. This quarter sees at least 10 new stations publish figures for the first time, including Greatest Hits Radio 60s (with 386k listeners) and Heart Love (201k).

CRA has launched the operation of its DAB+ digital radio network and the broadcasting of commercial radio stations on frequencies acquired in the frequency auction organised by the Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU). At the moment, 48% of the population coverage of the planned multiplex has been completed, and 6 commercial radio stations have started broadcasting there today. A total of 17 transmitters are now covered by the new digital radio multiplex, which is being launched by the CRA on 4 February. The second phase and the launch of 15 more transmitters will follow by the end of March, with coverage reaching 80% of the Czech population. The new multiplex already has a customer, the Radio United Broadcasting media group.

WorldDAB's work on the development of Automatic Safety Alerts (ASA) for DAB+ has been recognised at the Grand Prix of the Paris Radio Show. The ASA system was nominated in the ‘Best Technical Innovation’ category, which recognises new concepts, emerging technologies and innovative solutions. Three key features differentiate this DAB+ emergency alert system from all other existing solutions. Firstly, geographical targeting (only people in the relevant areas receive the notification). Secondly, inter-set signalling (receivers analyse references to alert announcements on other radio stations, increasing the flexibility and range of alerts). Finally, wake-up mode (receivers can be activated by the DAB+ signal, a particularly useful function for clock radios).

New WorldDAB member Factum Radioscape recently recently upgraded the commercial and community DAB+ multiplexes in Australia with their partner TXA, providing modern, reliable systems for multiple broadcasters in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. We learn more about Factum Radioscape's plans in this interview with James Waterson, Sales Manager at Factum Radioscape.

The Netherlands has a new radio station. Lega-C can be heard on air in the Haaglanden region via DAB+. A remarkable change in the DAB+ station offer in and around The Hague: Lega-C has taken the place of Feel Good Radio 60‘s & 70’s Hits. The radio station can be heard via the DAB+ transmitter set up in Delft since last weekend. The station started broadcasting mixes on the first day and meanwhile broadcasts a format of dance and house tracks. Totaal TV spoke to a spokesperson for Lega-C. She indicated that Lega-C is a radio station that does not necessarily pay attention to whether it is commercially interesting, but mainly whether it is fun to listen to. ‘We are going to emphasise classics, that also goes with our name, but every now and then we will also play a new record in the ‘future Lega-C’ category.’