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Public and private broadcasters joined forces at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid to deliver a unified message to the automotive sector: broadcast radio must remain prominent in the evolving in-car environment with a warning that radio as a medium could “disappear” if this does not happen. The unique event brought together almost 200 senior executives from across the global automotive and broadcast industries to explore the future of radio in the digital dashboard. Public and private broadcasters joined forces today at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid to deliver a unified message to the automotive sector: broadcast radio must remain prominent in the evolving in-car environment.

Global, Bauer, the BBC and other public and commercial broadcasters have made a united call to the car industry to ensure that radio remains easy to access and prominent in connected vehicles. The message was delivered at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid, where close to 200 executives from the broadcast and automotive sectors gathered to discuss the future of radio in the car. Tobias Nielsen from Bauer Media and Tomas Granryd from the European Broadcasting Union launched a new global initiative called “Radio Ready for Connected Cars”, which aims to keep radio freely available and prominent in digital dashboards. Earlier today, leaders from Bauer, the EBU and the Association of European Radios took part in a panel focused on collaboration with the automotive sector.

Public and private broadcasters joined forces today at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid to deliver a unified message to the automotive sector: broadcast radio must remain prominent in the evolving in-car environment. The unique event brought together almost 200 senior executives from across the global automotive and broadcast industries to explore the future of radio in the digital dashboard. Spain’s Secretary General for Telecommunications, Matías González Martín, welcomed delegates to Madrid, saying “we are fully aware of the value of DAB+ digital radio - we support it, and events like this.” He said a round of contact with stakeholders was underway, with a decision due in the coming weeks on regulatory measures to promote movement to DAB+.

Bauer Media Group today joined the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on stage in Madrid at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 to unveil a new, unified vision for how broadcasters and car manufacturers can support radio listening in connected cars. This strategic alignment comes at a crucial time, with radio accounting for over 80% of in-car audio consumption today. The vision, Radio Ready, centres around three key principles: firstly, radio should be prominent and convenient; secondly, radio apps should be discoverable; and thirdly, voice assistants should be reliable. The goal, ultimately, is to secure and promote radio’s place in cars as automotive technology — and the needs of listeners — continue to evolve.

With the support of RTVE, Madrid hosted WorldDAB Automotive 2025, an event that brought together nearly 200 broadcasting and automotive industry executives from around the world. Taking advantage of the event, WorldDAB held a meeting of its Steering Board at the headquarters of Radio Nacional de España. Public and private broadcasters have launched a joint message: terrestrial sound broadcasting must maintain its leading role in the digital automotive ecosystem. They also discussed the future of in-car radio, where its visibility and accessibility is increasingly under threat. Coinciding with Automotive 2025, the WorldDAB Board met at the Casa de la Radio, headquarters of Radio Nacional de España.

On 16/06/2025, the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy published a notice regarding a tender to select a network operator holding a national digital radio broadcasting licence that would make available the transmission capacity on a DAB+ multiplex with a coverage of not less than 70% of the population. The contract, with a duration of up to 19 years, will be awarded at the lowest price, with a deadline for applications set for 23 July 2025. The tender also represents an important benchmark for the economic and technical value of DAB+ transmission capacity in the Italian market.

DIGIDIA has added a major feature to its DAB BI 2.0 DAB Tunnel Break-in product. The DAB BI 2.0 can break-in emergency messages into up to 4 different DAB Ensembles. It is now possible to switch each DAB Ensemble independently to the appropriate emergency message for each ensemble. In the previous version all DAB Ensembles switched at the same time. With the new version, tunnel operators can serve different segments in one tunnel, or they can choose to serve separate tunnel tubes with separate messages. This capability makes the whole system more compact and affordable as it is served with just one break-in system, The DIGIDIA DAB BI consists of internally developed PCIe express boards for the RF frontends end installed on a 4RU PC Platform. The core of the product is a SDR based software based on Windows, that makes it flexible and easily adaptable for new environments. The DAB BI 2.0 is one of the most popular and reliable DAB Tunnel Break in systems and installed in Norway, Switzerland, Belgium and soon in Slovakia.

RTV Slovenia today officially opened a new transmitter on the outskirts of Kuštanovci in Goričko, which will significantly improve the coverage of the eastern and southern part of Pomurje with DAB+ digital radio and FM signals. The new transmitter replaces the old one in Pečarovci. Natalija Gorščak, President of the Management Board of RTV Slovenia, said, ‘RTV Slovenia is aware of its importance in the area of building key infrastructure, so we are pleased that we have succeeded in installing a new transmitter that will enable broadcasting via the DAB+ system, while at the same time improving the reception of the FM signal in the north-eastern part of Slovenia.’

Bauer has launched a new version of its UK brand in Ireland with the unannounced arrival of Greatest Hits Radio Ireland. The station has started broadcasting on the FáilteDAB multiplex, playing classic hits and featuring a line-up of presenters including Debbie Allen and Liam Quigley. There is currently no reference to the station on Bauer Media Audio Ireland’s official website or social media platforms, and no public launch has been confirmed. Despite using the same name and sung jingle package as the UK version of Greatest Hits Radio, the Irish service is airing separate programming. There are no shared shows with GHR UK, including its most well-known presenter Ken Bruce.

This coming Thursday 19 June, Madrid will host the meeting of WorldDAB, the organisation dedicated to the implementation and promotion of Digital Terrestrial Radio in the world, dedicated to analysing the situation of radio in the future connected cars, “WorldDAB Automotive 2025”. The meeting will be opened by the Secretary General for Telecommunications and Regulation of Audiovisual Communication Services of the Spanish Government, Matías González Martín, who will share his strategic vision on digital infrastructures and audiovisual regulation with those present in the inaugural conference entitled: ‘Shaping Spain's digital future’.