News

The media barometer from the Norwegian Association of Media Agencies says audio advertising can show an increase in turnover of almost NOK 74 million from 2022. This is an increase of 16.3 per cent. Radio has an increase of 14.1 per cent and amounts to approximately NOK 60 million. Podcasts show positive growth of 46.2% and NOK 14 million. The two big winners, strictly speaking for the third year in a row, are Radio/Audio and Outdoor. Both media types are going against the grain and are experiencing all-time-high sales in Norway. This is according to Jonas Buskop, Director of Negotiations and Investments at Omnicom Media Group.

Dance One, FG's Dance/EDM radio station, has started broadcasting in Bordeaux and the Arcachon Basin on DAB+. This is the fourth DAB+ broadcasting area for Dance One after Paris, Marseille, Nice and Cannes. FG is continuing to develop its DAB+ network in France, with its radio bouquet of four DAB programmes: FG DJ Radio, (already present in over 100 towns and cities, in addition to its network of 35 FM frequencies), FG CHIC (the lounge and nu disco radio station present in Paris, Monaco, Nice and the Côte d'Azur), Maxximum (the new music radio station, broadcast in Paris IDF) and DanceOne which is present in Paris, Marseille, Nice and Cannes as well as Bordeaux and the Bassin d'Arcachon.

The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) has issued 38 licences to local radio and regional television stations for the period 2025 to 2034. In the "Overview of licence holders", it notes: "In contrast to the current broadcasting licences, from 2025 onwards only licences giving entitlement to a share of the licence fee will continue to be granted. With digital broadcasting via DAB+, frequencies are no longer a scarce resource, as was the case with FM broadcasting. From now on, local commercial radio stations in urban areas and the Swiss Plateau which had a licence not giving entitlement to a quota will only have to register with the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), and will no longer have to fulfil a performance mandate."

Teleko digital from Příbram is one of the eight operators that are winners in the auction of frequencies for the operation of DAB+ multiplexes of commercial radio stations. The company's boss, Tomáš Řapek, told the Digital Radio portal that the move was very beneficial. "I would like to congratulate the other participants in the DAB radio frequency auction on their gains and I wish that these private terrestrial DAB networks will suitably complement the DAB multiplex offer of the public Czech Radio. I am glad that our almost 20 years of efforts to introduce this modern technology in our country are coming to fruition and that we are not lagging behind those European countries where the digital radio broadcasting system is already fully established," Řapek said.

Radio DOC is now also available on DAB in Palermo and Catania. The station says "The year 2024 starts with great news for the Radio DOC family: one more step into the digital revolution, which will bring us new services and a wider editorial offer in the coming months. In Sicily, DAB and DAB+ radios represent an enormous opportunity for the broadcasting of music, information and advertising content, in high quality. Radio DOC strongly believes in these channels and is ready to spread its voice and music around our beautiful region!"

One of the winners of the auction of frequencies for the DAB+ digital radio network, GG Omikron, is not opposed to renting transmission sites and towers as well as the transmission equipment itself. This is one of the lesser-known bidders in the tender, backed by the family holding Greativity Group of businessman Jan Vyskocil, who has also appeared as a cameo actor in several TV series, mainly on Primě TV. In the auction, the company managed to obtain frequencies for Prague, part of the Moravian-Silesian and South Moravian regions. "One of the parameters of our auction strategy was to cover population-heavy territories at a reasonable price per frequency allocation. In my opinion, this was successful," Jan Vyskocil told Médiáři.

The process of extending the coverage of the Polish Radio DAB+ multiplex is underway. Since the New Year, residents of further locations have gained access to digital radio. "Since 1 January we have added 17 new transmitters, and by the end of January we are planning a further five," Agnieszka Sobucka, director of the marketing and communications office and spokesperson for Emitel, tells Wirtualnemedia.pl. The multiplex includes: Jedynka, Dwójka, Trójka, Czwórka, Polskie Radio 24, Polskie Radio Chopin, Polskie Radio Kierowców, Polskie Radio Dzieciom, Polskie Radio dla Ukrainy, regional radio stations and their specialist channels.

DTS, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of entertainment technology company Xperi Inc., today released a new automotive report, “From In-Vehicle Entertainment to Integrated In-Cabin Experience.” The report reveals that the personal vehicle is rivaling or outpacing other personal third spaces, which refers to a physical or virtual environment where one can relax or unwind. Of those who say in-vehicle entertainment is important: 81% say it is important to have a broad range of content (local radio, streaming, podcasts, audio books, etc.), and to be able to access relevant, easily ‘discoverable’ content (i.e., recommended in the dashboard) without looking for it. Two-thirds say it is important that the content is enhanced with rich visual/textual information (i.e., album cover images, biographical info) about the artist and song listened to.

On 20 December, the General Audiovisual and Media Service (SGAM) published a government order launching a call for tenders for the last DAB+ community network that had not been awarded in the 2019 global call for tenders. Applicants for this frequency network will have until 15 March 2024 to submit their applications to the CSA. All the information and documents needed for the authorisation procedure will be available in January 2024 on the website. The call for tenders is for one DAB+ network (C11) which covers Brussels and Wallonia.

Smooth Radio, from Global, today (Monday, 8 January) announced a brand new radio station, Smooth Relax, dedicated to “Your Relaxing Music Mix”. Smooth Relax joins sister stations Smooth, Smooth Chill and Smooth Country on DAB Digital Radio across the UK, on Global Player – the official Smooth app – and at globalplayer.com as well as on smart speakers. The launch of Smooth Relax follows the massive growth seen by Smooth Radio, which has 6.2 million weekly listeners*, including its sister stations Smooth Chill and Smooth Country, which have nearly 1 million weekly listeners between them.