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Where does DAB+ radio stand in terms of its prominence in new cars, and what has to be done to maintain radio’s position going forward? Both of those topics were tackled by Laurence Harrison, director of automotive partnerships with Radioplayer Worldwide, during his talk entitled, “The fight for radio’s prominence in-car: Where are we now and can we win?” at the WorldDAB Automotive 2024 conference. To find out how prominent DAB+ radio is in today’s new cars, “we did a quick bit of research,” said Harrison. “I couldn’t claim that this is completely representative, but what we did is we went into the UK to look at 10 new cars. These were from the top 10 OEM brands’ new models and we looked at two things. We looked at the broadcast DAB+ radio button’s prominence and we also looked at voice, and the extent to which you’ve made an accurate request and then it played on DAB+.”

The unique annual WorldDAB Automotive event brought together both in-person and online, over 300 executives from across the global automotive and broadcast sectors in Prague, Czechia on Thursday (13 June). Setting the scene, WorldDAB President, Jacqueline Bierhorst made a passionate call for continued collaboration to ensure broadcast radio’s prominence in-car. She described radio as “relentless” for its longevity and added: “we all have to pull together to ensure that DAB+ remains at the heart of the dashboard, in the best quality possible.” Bierhorst was joined on stage by EBU Head of Radio, Edita Kudláčová, to highlight radio’s critical role as a trusted source of news, and its importance in times of crisis.

Announced several months ago, the regulator unveiled its White Paper on radio on Tuesday morning. The reason for this is "because the media must adapt to new uses and Arcom is there to support them". The aim of the White Paper is to take stock of the current state of radio, identify the needs of each sector and offer a vision, such as that of achieving the switch to fully digital radio by the end of 2033. "Radio today is facing structural questions. It is at a crossroads," Roch-Olivier Maistre began. "The radio medium needs a horizon. To do this, it must emerge from uncertainty and prepare for the switch to all-digital broadcasting, to the benefit of all audiences and all radio stations". Referring to Balzac, Roch-Olivier Maistre said that "Good reports are those that are transformed into deeds".

This is (almost) the end of an era for frequency modulation. The White Paper on Radio, unveiled this morning by Arcom, mentions 2033 as the date for totally digital French radio. Cleverly, there is no question of abandoning FM but of favouring DAB, which will inevitably and gradually take over. In less than 10 years' time. In any event, a decision to extinguish FM in mainland France and the procedures for doing so can only be taken at the end of the two phases of the trajectory proposed by Arcom, i.e. in 2033, or closer to that date if a majority of the proposals put forward by Arcom have been implemented cumulatively.

Arcom has today published a White Paper on radio that outlines an ambitious future for the radio medium. In particular, it sets out a realistic and progressive strategy for the radio industry's transition to DAB+. Radio France is delighted with the prospects outlined by Arcom. DAB+, a modern digital technology, has many qualities: it is sovereign, resilient and resource-efficient, it respects personal data and there is no risk of it being monopolised by the digital giants. Radio France has therefore been fully committed to its deployment since 2018 and is participating in the radio sector's drive in its favour. Radio France supports Arcom's call for the Ensemble pour le DAB+ association to become a genuine coalition of all the players involved in steering this transition.

The result of more than 30 hearings and consultations with the main players in radio, Arcom has published its White Paper on the future of radio in France, which provides a broad overview of the sector and its economic, legal and technical aspects, as well as changes in usage. The White Paper on Radio was presented by Hervé Godechot, Arcom member and chairman of the Radio and Digital Audio working group, at the Assises de la radio 2024 conference on Tuesday 18 June at the AMF headquarters in Paris.

WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst has described radio as “relentless” and calls for continued collaboration to ensure broadcast radio’s prominence in the car dashboard. International organisations including EBU in Europe and NAB in United States came together to highlight broadcast radio’s strength, and new in-car opportunities at the annual WorldDAB Automotive event on Thursday 13th June. Over 300 executives from across the global automotive and broadcast sectors gathered in Prague, Czechia to talk radio. Setting the scene, WorldDAB President, Jacqueline Bierhorst made a passionate call for continued collaboration to ensure broadcast radio’s prominence in-car. She described radio as “relentless” for its longevity and added: “We all have to pull together to ensure that DAB+ remains at the heart of the dashboard, in the best quality possible.”

Radio Arabella Austria has launched a new DAB+ programme. arabella MAGIC can now be heard throughout Austria via DAB+ and replaces the previous arabella RELAX programme, which can only be heard as a webstream and in apps such as Radioplayer. The new DAB+ programme aims to offer "feel good vibes" and "magic moments" with music from the 2000s to the present day from the pop, pop-dance and singer-songwriter genres, such as Coldplay, Ava Max, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, One Republic to Taylor Swift and James Blunt. Even before the general industry launch of MUX III on 21 June 2024, arabella MAGIC will present itself in the colourful DAB+ scene with a new look. According to Arabella boss Birgit Steurer, the focus is on a clear and accentuated variety of stations for the Radio Arabella group of companies in the digital Austrian radio landscape.

In keeping with its commitment to increase coverage on a monthly basis until the end of the year, with the aim of reaching around 50% of the population coverage, RNE has begun broadcasting Radio Nacional, Radio 3 and Radio 5 in DAB+ in Mijas at Cellnex Telecom's broadcasting centre in the town. From there, coverage is provided to the towns of Málaga, Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola. The start of broadcasts also coincides with the high season in an area that is a tourist destination for citizens from different countries where DAB+ is already available to listen to. Moreover, these visitors use rental cars which are no more than three years old and which therefore incorporate DAB+ receivers.

“The dashboard is critical to our future, and that’s why we are here — to unite the automotive and broadcast sectors.” Jacqueline Bierhorst, WorldDAB president, could not have been more direct in her opening address at the WorldDAB Automotive 2024 conference on June 13. The hybrid event brought together about 300 professionals, both in person and online, from the broadcast and automotive sectors to explore the latest developments in digital radio technology for the automotive industry. In-car listening has always been crucial to radio, but while radio still holds prominence in cars, will this continue? How will the rapid evolution of advanced dashboards and onboard entertainment systems impact this?