News

The launch of Radio Orient in the central France region of Roanne brings the number of zones covered by the radio station on DAB+ to 28 (in addition to the 11 zones covered by FM), making it one of the largest radio networks broadcast on DAB+ in France. The station promises to launch in further regions throughout 2022.

Pending the final decision of the Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media — the Flemish media regulatory body — some 60 Flemish local stations will broadcast on DAB+ in early 2022, as part of local DAB+ trials.

The National Broadcasting Council will grant 3 nationwide DAB+ licences for general or specialised radio programmes. These places would probably go to commercial radio players RMF FM, Radio Zet and Radio Maryja. The Council also wishes to grant 6 licences for regional broadcasters - to either existing or completely new players. Three places will be allocated to Polish Radio.

“Co-driver” displays — those targeting the front-seat passenger — are among “mega trends” dominating the European automotive industry. Another is Android Automotive. Martin Koch of Volkswagen CARIAD said the arrival of “co-driver” displays will increase the demand for high-quality visual content in the dash. Radio has to act fast to respond to both of these trends, said Koch.

Poland's National Broadcasting Council announcedon 29 December its plans to issue licences for a nationwide DAB+ multiplex, R1. Three licences on the multiplex will be for for nationwide radio programmes, a further six licences will be issued, and three of the places on the multiplex will be allocated to Polish Radio's national radio programmes.

GB News Radio appeared on the Digital One national DAB multiplex ahead of its official launch in January. The station ran a pre-recorded promotional loop and from January 4th 2022, GB News will be available on the radio in addition to the TV with a 24/7 simulcast. It will be the only broadcaster to offer its entire output across both radio and television nationally, and the first since the early days of DAB when ITV offered a similar service.

The Channel Islands has welcomed 22 radio stations, including many new services, broadcasting on a new DAB+ digital radio multiplex. Two transmitters on Jersey and Guernsey, around 14 miles (22 kilometers) west of the French coast, have been switched on, with a third on the tiny island of Alderney due on-air later this year. They bring more choice to a potential 130,000 listeners, from community radio services and among others, Nation Radio, Global, Wireless and the BBC.

A decade after digital radio launched, Germany is seeing accelerating growth for both listeners and broadcasters. Digitalradio Büro Deutschland, the joint-initiative between broadcasters, receiver manufacturers, and network operators in Germany, declared the 2021 the “best year for DAB+ since 2011.” According to the Büro, 2021 saw a 30 percent increase in number of digital radio receivers in German homes and cars over the prior year, and DAB+ signals are heard in about 27 percent of German households, some 11 million people. Around 20 percent of all radio listeners regularly tune to DAB+ programs.

A major broadcaster in Qatar has chosen Paneda as its technical partner for DAB systems. Paneda has delivered a completely new DAB system including redundancy, audio contribution, content system for metadata and distribution components. Paneda has recently finalized onsite training sessions with the local technicians and performed redundancy tests and other exercises. The complete system is now in operation.

Radio France CEO Sibyle Veil and CSA Board Member Hervé Godechot shared their views on the DAB+ deployment in France at the WorldDAB Summit in November. “DAB+ is a broadcast mode that is ecologically interesting. The transmitters are more powerful and can broadcast more radio stations on the same frequency. These are important issues for us in the future.” Two new national multiplexes have been launched, covering the major motorway corridors of Paris-Lyon-Marseille and carrying 25 DAB+ stations including six national public services from Radio France. In the next 12 months, DAB+ will switch on in a further 26 areas, with a total of 465 stations carried on the new multiplexes.