News

The alternative radio station egoFM is facing a drastic change: on 1 July 2025, the station will end its analogue FM operation and will focus exclusively on digital distribution channels such as DAB+ and streaming in future. This was confirmed by Fred Schreiber, Programme Director of egoFM, in an interview with RADIOSZENE. Schreiber now confirms: "Yes, that's right. egoFM will give up its FM frequencies on 1 July 2025. The end of FM has been politically decided anyway - we are going this way earlier." Instead, egoFM wants to focus on digital reach. According to Schreiber, the proportion of digital listeners (via DAB+ and the internet) almost doubled between 2020 and 2025 - to around 48 per cent. ‘The trend is inevitably rising,’ says the programme director.

In the auction of non-national commercial DAB+ licences, 13 parties, including Radio Simone, Radio Limburg, Regional Radio Frequency, 4Ever49 Radio, Gigant FM and Team FM managed to secure one or more licences. Through the auction, which started on Tuesday morning, the central government distributed 44 DAB+ licences on the seven allotments of the supra-regional DAB+ network. This is the network on which also the regional public broadcasters as well as non-national commercial stations that also have an FM lot broadcast. There was residual capacity left on this. The new licences take effect on September 1 and are valid for 10 years.

Jean-Marc Dubreuil, representative for the WorldDAB forum, made an impassioned plea for DAB+ to an audience of more than 150 industry professionals at the opening of the Casablanca Broadcast Days on 10 and 11 June. A first in Morocco for the man who travels the world to promote this technology, which he describes as ‘the backbone of tomorrow's broadcasting’.

Jacqueline Bierhorst didn’t mince words at Radiodays Europe in the Greek capital on March 11. The WorldDAB president delivered a clear warning to radio broadcasters: don’t surrender control to unregulated tech giants. In a passionate speech, she made the case for DAB+ as the key to radio’s future, highlighting its cost efficiency, resilience in emergencies, and ability to keep broadcasters independent from third-party platforms. Here is an excerpt from that speech. Jacqueline Bierhorst, WorldDAB president: "I want to explore not only the global growth of DAB+ and how it can re-energize radio but also why I believe broadcast is crucial for broadcasters. That may seem a strange thing to say or that it’s obvious. But let me explain why I think it’s important..."

Factum Radioscape is proud to announce that its state-of-the-art Multimuxa DAB+ System has been chosen by TX Australia for a significant upgrade project for eight commercial multiplexes in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. This landmark project will modernise radio broadcasting infrastructure across the major Australian cities, ensuring high-quality digital radio services for millions of listeners. Factum Radioscape's close collaboration with TXA ensures seamless operation when migrating from the former DAB+ system, first installed in 2009. The selection of the Multimuxa by TXA underscores their commitment to cutting-edge technology to enhance listener experiences and optimise broadcast efficiency.

2 June saw the official launch of Q8 Radio, the new digital radio station from Q8, designed to accompany Italians in their daily lives, whether they are travelling or at other times of the day. Available on DAB+ in 38 cities, including Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Florence, Bari, Palermo and Cagliari, Q8 Radio was created with the aim of being a constant, engaging and useful presence during the daily commute. The birth of Q8 Radio, in fact, is part of a context of great vitality for the radio medium: DAB+ technology, also chosen by Q8, is destined to grow steadily in the coming years, thanks to its superior audio quality compared to FM, signal stability and integration of visual content.

The National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate launched the auction of non-national commercial DAB+ licences on 10 June. These are residual capacity on the supra-regional network. The supra-regional network is used by regional public broadcasters and non-national commercial radio stations. After the non-national commercial FM lots and associated DAB+ capacity were auctioned last month, there is still space left on the seven allotments. This is now being distributed as yet. These are five licences for the Noord-Holland and Flevoland allotment, seven licences for the Friesland allotment, six for Groningen and Drenthe, eight for Overijssel, five for South Holland and Zeeland, eight for Utrecht and Gelderland and five for North Brabant and Limburg.

The Hitradio radio network will not operate in digital broadcasting on the basis of a single licence for nationwide broadcasting. Individual stations that currently operate in the analogue FM band are seeking separate regional DAB+ licences. Media Bohemia is preparing an interesting solution for the digital broadcasting of its Hitradio. At the end of May, the company applied to the Radio and Television Broadcasting Council (RRTV) for 16 digital licences for all of its analogue programmes, as well as four new purely digital stations. Of these 16 applications, 10 concern Hitradio. In two of them, the operator is seeking nationwide broadcasting: these are Hitrádio City and Hitrádio 90. The other eight licences are intended to preserve the group's regional broadcasting capability even after it enters DAB+, replicating the regional FM stations included in the Hitrádio network.

Onic Pride Vibes is live on DAB+ and online for the 2025 Pride Season. The station, which launched for Pride in 2022, and has won numerous industry awards for its content, returns bigger and better for year four, with a lineup of presenters that includes Sean Munsanje, Shivani Dave, Vicki Blight, Stephen Byrne and new talent including Brandon Caufield and Max Kane. The role of Pride Vibes is to SHINE a light on Irish life by celebrating the successes of the LGBTQ+ community and start conversations around the issues that matter. Brian McCarthy, Group Commercial and Operations Director for Onic said, “We’re delighted to be back for Year 4 of Pride Vibes and excited to expand our broadcast offering to the recently launched DAB+ network across Leinster.”

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) is partnering with the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) and WorldDAB for a three-part online workshop on DAB+ Digital Radio, taking place from 15 to 17 July 2025. The “New Developments in DAB+ Systems” webinar series will showcase the latest updates and innovations in digital radio technology. The sessions will cover a range of topics: Day 1 will examine the benefits of DAB+ and the integration of Emergency Warning Systems; Day 2 will focus on technical improvements and case studies; while Day 3 will explore Single Frequency Network design, cost-analysis strategies, and the transition from FM to DAB+. Hosted by ASBU, with ABU and WorldDAB as partners, the workshop offers valuable insights from leading industry experts.