News

There were a number of changes to DAB+ terrestrial digital radio on 1 April. New programmes were launched or existing radio stations expanded their broadcasting area. There is a new service from Star FM. The rock station was previously available terrestrially in Berlin, Franconia and Saxony. Since 1 April, it has also been offering a separate service for North Rhine-Westphalia. The station took over the capacity of Femotion Radio in the state-wide multiplex on channel 9D. The country station The WOLF has been available in three more federal states since Easter Monday: Bremen (channel 6A), Hamburg (channel 12C) and Hesse (channel 6A and 12C). Last year, the station already expanded to Rheinhessen.

New WorldDAB member RTVE recently launched DAB+ services in Spain. We learn more about RTVE's plans in this interview with Javier Sánchez, Head of Strategy at RTVE Innovation Center, RTVE. “WorldDAB is the only organisation where all stakeholders involved in the deployment of DAB+ worldwide are represented,” he says.

Next week marks the three-month anniversary of the publication of the results of the auction of frequencies for networks dedicated to commercial DAB+ radio. What are the plans of the eight tender winners and where and when do they want to start broadcasting? A total of nine bidders took part in the frequency auction organised by the Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU). One of them, Infinity Telecom, withdrew from the tender before the auction started. The remaining eight companies succeeded and shared a total of 29 DAB+ digital radio networks, two of which are nationwide and 27 regional.

Despite having myriad options for listening to music and accessing news headlines, we still love the original 'wireless' radio. There are times when switching BBC 6 Music on in the kitchen just can't be beaten. With the advent of DAB/DAB+, internet radio and Bluetooth streaming, the humble radio has also come a long way since its bedside clock integration. What follows is our pick of the best DAB radios that have graced our test rooms (and our homes) over the years, put through their paces by our experienced team of in-house reviewers.

Following the successful launch on 13 July 2023 via the Lower Saxony DAB+ platform and the launch on the Rheinhessen Mux, The WOLF - Deutschlands Country Radio is further expanding its broadcasting area. On 1 April, the programme will be launched via DAB+ in Hesse, Bremen and Hamburg under the slogan "New Country and the Legends". "We are delighted that the country station has received a very positive response following its launch in Lower Saxony. We have therefore decided to continuously expand The WOLF's coverage area," says Managing Director Steffen Müller.

One of the winners of the auction of DAB+ frequencies, Play.cz, is preparing a unique radio platform that will connect terrestrial digital radio broadcasting DAB+ with internet radio streams and the possibility of listening to them via smart car apps in Android and iOS operating systems. Play.cz will be a complete newcomer to terrestrial broadcasting, so its participation in the auction has already raised surprises and much speculation. One of the main creators of the concept of the new radio platform Play.cz, including DAB+, is a member of the company's supervisory board, Jan John, who previously worked as a salesman at Czech Radio Communications. In an interview with Televizníweb.cz, he explains why Play.cz wants to enter DAB+ and what it is planning for digital radio broadcasting.

In just eleven weeks, WorldDAB will host WorldDAB Automotive 2024, which unites auto manufacturers and broadcasters to explore the future of DAB+ broadcast radio in automobiles. WorldDAB Automotive 2024 will be on June 13, in the picturesque city of Prague, Czechia, and online. Broadcast radio continues to dominate as the most listened-to source of in-car entertainment worldwide. However, the rapid transformation of the digital dashboard underscores the urgency for radio broadcasters to devise strategies to maintain their content’s visibility.

On March 12, maRadio.be, an organisation representing about 90% of Belgium’s public and private French-speaking radio stations, celebrated Digital Radio Day. The organization presented the results of the 6th survey by Ipsos on the digital transition in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. maRadio.be also celebrated its first decade of promoting radio in the South of Belgium and Brussels. According to the Ipsos survey, for the first time, the number of digital listeners equals the FM audience. “It took only a few years for digital channels to find their way on the radioscape,” commented Eric Adelbrecht, CEO of maRadio.be. “FM accounted for 82% of the total listening volume in 2018. Today, it is 54%. We expect that sometime this year, DAB+ listening will surpass FM.”

The operator of the digital radio station ZUN radio plans to remain on the DAB+ multiplex of Teleko digital, and will expand the signal as the operator plans to proceed, the station's director Ladislav Antoš confirmed to the Digital Radio portal. "We consider Teleko digital to be a quality and reliable partner with whom we want to continue to cooperate. We are carefully monitoring our broadcasting costs, but we are noticing a growing interest in our advertising spots. This gives us optimism for the future and we look forward to expanding our broadcasts to new locations and reaching more listeners," Antoš said.

On 13 June, the 19th Digimedia 2024 conference on media and digitalisation will be held, welcoming major representatives of private and public media, digital service providers and government. Of course, the conference will feature the most anticipated event of this year in terms of radio digitalisation - the building of DAB+ multiplexes for commercial radio. The third block of the conference, traditionally focused on digital radio broadcasting, will be very popular this year. This year we have just seen the allocation of frequencies for DAB+ digital networks for commercial radio, so this time there will be no academic debate. Participants of the conference will learn how the CTU is working on digital radio broadcasting.