Sharp Increase for Online Radio by Smartphones

9 out of 10 young smartphone owners listen online in the U.S.

The stand-alone radio receiver will fade away. Smartphones are increasingly changing the way U.S. consumers access information and entertainment. The share of smartphone users who utilize their device to listen to online radio has increased by double-digits in recent years.  According to a recent Pew Research Center survey listening to music and shopping on the go are especially popular among smartphone owners ages 18-29:  

87% have listened to an online radio or music service on their phone, compared with 41% of those 50+, while 73% have shopped online through their mobile device vs. 44% of older users.

   World Radio Day 2016

Dead and Buried - Parliament Confirms Rejection of DAB Radio in Sweden

Public radio continues on FM and will push for extending its remit to include digital radio online.

The Constitutional Standing Committee (KU) in Riksdagen (the Parliament) has processed the government missive regarding the 2015 National Audit review of digital radio in which the proposal for a transition from FM to DAB+ in 2017-2022 was rejected. After a short debate and without objection from any of the eight political parties Riksdagen today appended the missive to the protocol. This marks the end of 24 years of efforts to replace FM with DAB in Sweden.

Country Music Dominates U.S. Airwaves

Will the format continue its amazing growth?

Country’s dominance of U.S. radio continued unabated in 2015, registering a fourth-consecutive year of growth in the number of stations. There were 2,125 country stations in December 2015, a 2% increase over 2014, according to Inside Radio’s PrecisionTrak database.  - News/talk remained No. 2 with 1,354 outlets and  Spanish-language stations jumped 4% last year to 872, to rank third.

Apple Will Entertain Online in More Than 100 Car Models

CarPlay might signal the end of traditional in-car radio  

CarPlay made a splash last week, with auto makers like Ford, Chrysler and Volkswagen incorporating the sleek iOS-like infotainment interface  With CarPlay expanding throughout the automotive industry, Apple has finally launched a dedicated website to track which car makes and models now support the standard.

Digital HD Radio for Bangladesh

First two HD Radio stations in South Asia on air soon

Two HD Radio stations will be start broadcasting in early 2016 for Betar, the national government broadcaster for Bangladesh. The HD Radio broadcasts on mediumwave, supported by two GatesAir Flexiva 10kW transmitters, will cover the capital city of Dhaka and surrounding regions. Thus Bangladesh is not following neighboring India which have adapted DRM30/DRM+ for digital terrestrial radio.