News

Cumbria.Digital has announced plans to apply for the small-scale DAB multiplex licence covering Carlisle and Penrith. The company plans to reserve capacity for six community stations, surpassing Ofcom’s minimum requirement of four, to better serve the diverse communities in Carlisle, Penrith, and the surrounding rural areas. “We are looking to provide a platform that gives communities and organizations a voice, opening up the power of radio to all and bringing greater choice to listeners in the area,” said a spokesperson for Cumbria.Digital. “We will support the existing community stations in Carlisle and Penrith, ensuring they have capacity on the multiplex if they wish alongside supporting new stations.”

80er90er Megamix is a new special-interest channel from Antenne Vorarlberg, which will be broadcast on the regional DAB+ multiplex for Austria's westernmost province from 21 June. The station has already started test operations via the Internet and the live stream can already be found on aggregators such as TuneIn and Airable. According to the notice of approval for 80s90s Megamix, a 24-hour daily programme is planned that is aimed at the target group of over 30-year-olds in Vorarlberg. The music programme in AC format will mainly (but apparently not exclusively) include hits from the 80s and 90s.

Fun Kids has launched a new spin-off pop-up service and hired 10-year-old Martha Sheehan to run it. Martha is managing Fun Kids Space Station, which launched on the morning of June 8, 2024, during a special sleepover event held by Fun Kids at the National Space Centre in Leicester. It will air on DAB Digital Radio in Leicester and the Fun Kids app for the next month and focuses on space and space exploration, aimed at kids between 6 and 12 years old. Fun Kids Content Controller James Lloyd said: “We like to put young people in the driving seat. They have the most creative ideas. So when we thought about launching a space radio station just for kids, we needed someone who knew what our audience wanted to hear, and we couldn’t have been more pleased with the job Martha has done.”

Life Radio is expanding its range of radio programmes: with the launch of the new station "Flash90s", which is being launched as a nationwide DAB+ service, listeners throughout Austria can look forward to a musical journey back in time to the 90s. Under the motto "The cool sound of the 90s - every hit flashes!", Flash90s will be launched as a new digital audio brand in Austria from 21 June 2024, focusing on the lifestyle of the 90s. With its own programme team and morning show, the best hits from this unique decade will be celebrated around the clock. "Our aim is to revive the lifestyle of the 90s and to offer our listeners a unique music programme that is currently unparalleled in Austria," says Christian Stögmüller, Managing Director of Life Radio and the newly founded LR Digital Audio GmbH.

2.6% of Internet users acknowledge tuning in to Digital Terrestrial Radio. This is a milestone in the history of radio audiences in Spain, although the figure is more testimonial than representative. Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), in its DAB/DAB+ standards, is included for the first time in a study carried out by the AIMC. It was in the 2024 Q-Panel, exactly a quarter of a century after the approval in our country of the National Technical Plan for Digital Terrestrial Sound Broadcasting, which developed this new technology. This reality has nothing to do with the one experienced twenty-five years ago: right now there are around 3,200,000 DAB/DAB+ receivers on wheels, circulating on Spanish roads. RNE has switched on its DAB+ broadcasts in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, Murcia, Santiago de Compostela, Pamplona and will soon do so in other Spanish cities, until it reaches 50% of the country's population coverage by 2024.

In the UK, national CHR station Capital has launched an additional channel, Capital (Taylor’s Version). It’s available on broadcast radio (DAB), and online via the Global Player. It ties in with Taylor’s tour of the UK (Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London) which are going on over the next few weeks. I tuned in and listened for a few hours (thanks to having a daughter squarely in the target group); she was thrilled that there was an entire radio station dedicated to Taylor Swift, and enjoyed listening in the car. Excellently programmed, it encapsulates what every young girl loves about Taylor Swift; and once more shows the power of a flexible transmission platform like DAB, which can ably cope with pop-up, temporary stations like this. It also means that Capital will own Taylor Swift’s fans this summer: a perfect piece of marketing for the station, and an on-ramp for new listeners. Most impressive.

The consortium company Friuli Venezia Giulia DAB, a local DAB+ network operator that is part of the Aeranti-Corallo association system, has started experimenting with DAB+ broadcasting from the facility located in Col Gaiardin, in the province of Pordenone, on Block 9B. With this activation, a further installation is added to the many already activated by the consortium companies that are part of the Aeranti-Corallo association system. Friuli Venezia Giulia DAB is currently owned by the following local radio stations: Radio Spazio 103; Radio Punto Zero 3 Venezie; Radio Company; Stereo Radio; Radio 80; Radio Padova; Easy Rock; Radio Wow 1; Radio Gelosa; Radio Birikina; Vibra Fm; Radio Marilù; Radio Piterpan; Radio Bellla & Monella; Radio Sorrriso.

In June 2024, SWR will put a new location in the upper Ahr valley near Kesseling into operation, significantly improving digital radio reception at home and on the move. Südwestrundfunk (SWR) is further expanding its transmitter network for DAB+ digital radio reception in Rhineland-Palatinate. The Oberes Ahrtal/Kesseling site will go into operation on 11 June 2024, improving DAB+ coverage along the L85 between Ahrbrück and Staffel and the L90 between Kesseling and Weidenbach in frequency block (channel) 11A.

The NBTC Office held a meeting to listen to public opinions on three draft NBTC announcements related to DAB+ digital broadcasting. The NBTC has made the draft announcements to support the licensing of digital radio services. Air Chief Marshal Thanaphan Raicharoen, NBTC committee member, said that the draft announcement has principles for the cost-effective use of radio frequencies. Thailand has been broadcasting radio for more than 94 years, and until now analogue frequencies have always been used. Due to the high usage and limited resources, the NBTC has now chosen DAB+ technology on the 174-230 MHz frequency band to provide the digital radio service, providing good sound quality, resistance to interference, and supporting voice and data. The draft announcement consists of important parts: basic principles of planning, essential points, and summary of operational guidelines.

WorldDAB President, Jacqueline Bierhorst writes: "At the end of last year, I was honored and delighted to be elected as the new president of WorldDAB, the global industry forum for DAB+ digital radio. I’m succeeding Patrick Hannon whose leadership, enthusiasm and vision helped shape WorldDAB’s course for the past 10 years. Under his guidance, we’ve witnessed the exponential growth of DAB+ globally. Listeners love to listen to their favorite radio station via DAB+. Compared to FM, listeners have more choice and digital sound quality, and reception is usually better than before. Experience and research show that listeners use radio via DAB+ as they used to do via FM. In countries where DAB+ is well established, we see a significant decline in FM usage and increasing use of the various digital reception methods, with DAB+ as the heart of the broadcasting ecosystem."