News

Since 1 October, 13 new radio stations have been broadcasting on DAB+ in Lens and the surrounding area. With the agreement of Arcom, this new transmitter was installed on the initiative of the 13 stations that make up the local multiplex known as ‘BLAD’ (Béthune, Lens, Arras, Douai).

MIMIT has convened, for the next few days, the new public sessions (the second, after those held in September) for the assignment in some regions of the rights of use of frequencies to network operators for the digital terrestrial radio broadcasting service on certain DAB+ digital radio frequencies. These meetings in public session concern cases where there have been several expressions of interest for the same frequency and, as provided for in the calls for tenders, are intended to verify the possibility of reaching an agreement in relation to the choice of the network.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the largest mutual agreement procedure begins on Tuesday afternoon (15 October), probably not only in the history of the federal state, but nationwide. Applicants for five regional DAB+ multiplexes will meet via video conference, including 41 local radio stations, seven regional and two new state-wide stations, Radio NRW as the framework programme provider for all NRW local radio stations, as well as four applicants for platform operation. Representatives of the local radio stations' operating companies will also have the right to speak, as by law they are responsible for programme distribution in the two-pillar model. 55 applicants must agree on a single solution.

Play.cz, which has so far been active mainly in the field of internet streaming, will launch its own radio network in the DAB+ standard in the first quarter of next year. Jan John, a member of the company's supervisory board, made the announcement at the Media and Technology 2024 conference in Pardubice on Tuesday. The network's programming is currently in the pipeline. The launch in the first quarter of next year means that the operator will launch one transmitter in each of the awarded regions. Play.cz wants to proceed in such a way that by the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, it will have completed the first phase of expansion, which the Czech Telecommunications Authority set for it as one of the winners of the auction.

The regional programmes of Czech Radio for Hradec Králové, North Bohemia and the Karlovy Vary Region will be distributed for at least another year via DAB+ multiplexes of the operators RTI cz and Teleko digital. Karel Zýka, technical director of the public broadcaster, said this at the Media and Technology 2024 industry conference in Pardubice on Tuesday. Further development depends on the construction of commercial networks that will enable regionalisation. Czech Radio Karlovy Vary is currently a part of the DAB+ multiplex network of the West Bohemian company RTI cz, while the Hradec Králové and Sever circuits are part of the Teleko digital programming offer. Future solutions will affect the development of regionalisable radio multiplexes.

2023 was a record year for radio: After a slight decline in daily radio usage in Austria from 2019, 2023 marked a 10-year high in usage: Austrians listened to the radio for 202 minutes last year. The last time radio usage reached this level was in 2008. Private radio stations have increasingly benefited from this in recent years. The introduction of the new DAB+ digital broadcasting standard has led to a veritable explosion of new radio stations: Thanks to DAB+, this summer saw the largest expansion of stations since the start of private radio broadcasting in 1998. There are now almost 60 DAB+ stations in Austria. 83 per cent of Austrians can already receive DAB+, many of them without even knowing it. This is because digital terrestrial radio has been mandatory in cars since December 2020 according to an EU regulation. Since then, more than 700,000 new cars have been registered. Of those listeners, 60 per cent use DAB+ in their cars. In total, more than one million people in Austria already listen to the radio via DAB+ several times a month.

The Pilsen-based company RTI cz is able to retune five more transmitters of its temporary network for digital radios to the final frequencies and has received authorization for two new transmitters. After Karlovy Vary, Klínovec and Třebouňský vrch, RTI cz can also switch its network for digital broadcasting of commercial radios to final frequencies at Domažlice Čerchov, Klatovy Doubrava, Českobudějovice Kluk, Plzeň Sylvan and Javorník u Kašperských horů. The Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU) has issued the operator with a licence for these four transmitters to use the frequencies of the nationwide multiplex C, which RTI cz acquired in an auction at the turn of the year.

On 31 December 2024, the FM transmitters of the entire SSR will cease broadcasting. This includes the FM frequencies used by RTS Première, RTS Espace 2, RTS Couleur 3 and RTS Option Musique. The switch-off of FM transmitters is a decision taken by the Swiss Confederation, which will eventually affect all Swiss radio stations. Most listeners already listen to radio on digital platforms, primarily DAB+, which is the designated successor to FM, but also IP streaming (internet, smartphone app, webradio, etc.). FM listening is becoming less and less popular and is decreasing year by year. The shutdown of analogue FM transmitters is therefore inevitable. It allows for significant savings in terms of broadcasting costs, a gain in reliability and greater durability. It is also easier to use and offers a wider range of channels – up to 160 channels depending on the location. The Confederation chose the deadline for the shutdown of FM, in agreement with public and private radio stations. Eventually, all Swiss radio stations will switch to DAB+.

Lyca Radio Network has expanded its reach with the launch of Lyca Radio in Leicester on DAB. The new station is a local variant of its flagship service, which went live on Friday, 11th October, just ahead of the Hindu festival of Dussehra. This new addition marks the fourth station in the Lyca Radio Network, joining Lyca Radio – Greater London, Lyca Gold – Greater London, and the newly rebranded Lyca Radio – Greater Manchester, previously known as Asian Sound Radio. Raj Baddhan, CEO of Lyca Radio Network, told RadioToday: “We’re thrilled to have launched Lyca Radio – Leicester today, following the successful debut of Lyca Radio – Greater Manchester last year. Lyca Radio – Leicester will offer tailor-made content for our Leicestershire listeners, and we have a fantastic experience lined up for our new audience in the Midlands market.

‘Ensemble pour le DAB+’ announces the appointment of Maëlo Seuret as Executive Director of the association. His role will be to structure the association's development and support the growth and communication of DAB+. The ‘Ensemble pour le DAB+’ association was created in 2022 on the initiative of the Bureau de la Radio, Radio France and SIRTI, with the support of the French Ministry of Culture.