News

At its May meeting, the Media Council of the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg (mabb) decided to award eight DAB+ programme slots in Berlin and Brandenburg. Two programme slots on the particularly wide-reaching DAB+ channel 10B of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) were awarded to the programmes 94.3 RS2 Berlin-Brandenburg and Schlager Radio. This means that, for the first time, two private radio programmes have the same technical reach as rbb's radio programmes. Martin Gorholt, Chairman of the Media Council: ‘With this DAB+ decision, we have private and public service programmes together on one DAB+ multiplex for the first time in Berlin-Brandenburg. Listeners in Brandenburg in particular will benefit from this mixed allocation.’

Deutschlandradio is pushing ahead with the digitalisation of radio broadcasting. The network operator Media Broadcast has been commissioned to commission a total of 12 new transmitters for 2025. One focus is on Schleswig-Holstein, where the switch from FM to DAB+, which was agreed by politicians and public and private programme providers, began this year. Three new transmitter sites in Schleswig-Holstein - Bredstedt, Garding and Itzehoe - are to follow on 30 June and 1 July according to current plans. At the same time, the FM broadcasting of Deutschlandfunk and Deutschlandfunk Kultur will be discontinued in June and September in some regions with very good DAB+ coverage.

"We are already very well positioned with DAB+ reception in Central Germany. Now we need to close individual gaps in coverage and optimise reception of all MDR radio programmes via DAB+ as a whole," says Niels Schulze, Head of Programme Distribution at MDR. With the commissioning of the Salzwedel site, MDR is continuing to expand its transmitter network for DAB+. In the town of Salzwedel, digital radio reception inside buildings is now possible for the first time for around 14,000 residents. In the region around Salzwedel, digital radio reception indoors will also be further improved and stabilised for a total of around 28,000 residents. This will increase the level of coverage in buildings in Saxony-Anhalt from 98 to 99 per cent; coverage for mobile reception is already at 99 per cent.

Radio stations Expres FM and Classic Praha have newly expanded their digital broadcasting thanks to their inclusion in the PLAY.CZ DAB+ multiplex. They complemented Relax Radio from Kladno, which was the only one in this network until now. Both stations use a bitrate of 64 kbps, which corresponds to the standard of this network. The change means better availability of these stations for listeners in a wider area of the Czech Republic. At the same time, the Expres FM and Classic Praha programmes were disconnected from the ČRA DAB+ REGION network, which currently includes five radio stations. The change reflects transfers between network operators and optimisation of distribution.

MediaMarkt Austria is expanding its marketing portfolio with its own radio station: Radio MediaMarkt is now broadcasting around the clock throughout Austria on DAB+ and offers a programme of music, technology news and exclusive offers. The station is aimed at both tech-savvy listeners and customers who want to find out about current promotions. Radio MediaMarkt combines a varied music programme with current information from the electronics industry. In addition to chart hits and classics, it also broadcasts tech talks with experts and lightning-fast news from the world of electronics. The new programme will be broadcast on all regional DAB+ networks (MUX II) and can therefore be received throughout Austria.

Until now, GoDAB's DAB+ package, which is based in Friuli in Italy, could only be heard via a small transmitter around Udine. Since mid-April, the transmitter network has been expanded to include three more locations - including one with a wide reach. The Faedis/Pedrosa-Prati della Chiesa site, which was activated on 29 May, is in a somewhat bigger league. It has a wide range and has also been used in the past to broadcast German holiday stations for the northern Adriatic on VHF. The Pedrosa site transmits the GoDAB package on channel 9B with 630 watts ERP. The final expansion of the GoDAB transmitter network will include a total of eleven sites in Friuli. All of these will be operated with low transmission power.

I am a believer in Digital Terrestrial Radio. But not a radical. I believe that radio in Spain must tackle this subject that has been pending for two decades. But I understand the reality of the private sector, their fears and reservations (because I also worked from this side of the stage). But then you realise the huge role played by FM radio during the blackout, proving that it can continue to broadcast, even if the power is out. We talk about the future, and our mouths are full defending IP radio, streaming. But broadcast - over-the-air radio - continues to save lives in the midst of natural disasters and national emergencies. We defend progress and identify it with the network of networks. But dictatorships have an enormous facility to censor and cut off access to internet content, while they can do nothing to cut off terrestrial broadcasts.

Panjab Radio is expanding its DAB digital radio service to cover seven key areas with large Panjabi communities from midday on 2 June. Listeners in Derby, Royal Leamington Spa, Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Shropshire, Telford, Coventry and surrounding towns will now be able to hear the station on DAB. The move extends the station’s reach across central England and brings its 24/7 schedule of Panjabi music, news, faith and talk programmes to more households and businesses. Founder Surjit Singh Ghuman MBE said: “Expanding our DAB digital services to these key cities and towns means more families, businesses and individuals can rely on Panjab Radio for music, news and conversations that matter to them.”

Radio Ariston continues to grow and brings its voice to Pietra Ligure as well. The Sanremo broadcaster is now also available in DAB+ on channel 6D in the renowned tourist resort overlooking the Ligurian Sea. This is a new step in the broadcaster's ambitious expansion strategy, which aims at increasingly widespread coverage of the region. With this new installation, Radio Ariston extends its presence to neighbouring municipalities and the surrounding hilly areas, reaching almost 80% of the Ligurian territory. ‘We are happy to continue expanding our signal,’ comments Enzo Sangrigoli, station manager of the radio station. "Thanks to the MediaDAB consortium, of which we are members, we now broadcast to almost the entire region. In the near future we expect to activate new systems and reach the entire Ligurian territory."

On 24 June 2025, MDR will permanently switch off selected FM frequencies. This will happen in the early hours of the morning. As a modern multimedia house, MDR has digitised the entire production and distribution chain in recent years and made it fit for the future. Only FM broadcasting is still analogue. For many years, MDR's radio programmes have been broadcast in parallel in analogue and digital form in order to offer listeners a long-term opportunity to switch to digital radio reception. This parallel broadcasting of analogue FM and digital DAB+ is designed for a long-term, albeit limited, period. Starting early in the morning of June 24, 2025, selected low-power FM frequencies will no longer be receivable at 11 locations in Central Germany.