Public Service Radio Challenged by New Commercial Broadcaster in Sweden

 Aftonbladet Radio might be a salvation for a feeble commercial radio industry.

The Media Authority has announced three new permits to broadcast commercial FM radio nationally; two broad music and entertainment channels and a current affairs and news channel for the period 2026-2034. The newspaper Aftonbladet will broadcast a news-focused channel in contrast to the two other entertainment-oriented radio channels. The decision means that commercial radio at least partly can now develop into what politicians envisioned 33 years ago; a private advertising-financed alternative to public service radio (Sveriges Radio P1 and P4).

5G Broadcast For Boston Television A Reality in 2026

40 million plus US coverage potential after FCC approval

5G Broadcast is an LTE-based Terrestrial Broadcast technology, supported by broadcasters for future digital terrestrial television (DTT). 2026 starts off with Boston TV stations WCRN and WWOO both applying to the FCC for experimental 5G Broadcast licenses in anticipation of fully licensed 5G Broadcast facilities in 2026. The combined station coverage is 8,386,887 people. Using the X1 Mobile’s 5G Broadcast core, tests will include use of the 5G Broadcast core to deliver content to the stations for broadcast. This will include field test reliability of new 5G Broadcast receivers with 5G Broadcast configured chips and testing of app’s developed specifically for 5G Broadcast use.  

The next phase for the US deployment involves a network rollout of ten 5G Broadcast enabled television stations covering over 40 million people plus various single 5G Broadcast network affiliates throughout the US.

Digital radio DRM to be launched in South Africa

DRM+ will complement analogue broadcasting in the FM band

Aldred Dreyer, chairman of the DRM South Africa Group, spearheading the development, roll-out and promotion of DRM radio, says the trial will commence which follows the granting of a trial license by communications regulator Icasa. The DRM+ trial will be conducted from a high site in Northcliff, Johannesburg, using spectrum in the FM band, according to a report in TechCentral. Dreyer plans to approach the SABC’s technology division to gauge interest in joining the trial. One of the conditions of the trial is that we can’t do commercial promotion. We can create awareness, demonstrate the technology and explain what listeners will need – but we can’t say, ‘We’re live, go buy a receiver.’  -   Read more here about the trials which are planned to start on World Radio Day February 13.

British Findings: DAB Cannot Replace FM for Community Radio

SSDAB solution not a comprehensive substitute for analogue provision.

There are 332 community radio stations in the UK mostly broadcasting on analogue FM.  The are licenses for local digital services on DAB mostly for simulcasting FM-DAB but some also DAB-only. The think tank Decentered Media has published a new briefing paper examining the outcomes of the Small-Scale DAB (SSDAB) program and its implications for local and independent radio services across the UK. This paper provides an evidence-led assessment of the outcomes of the SSDAB program, drawing on an independently compiled and verified dataset of analogue and digital radio services.

  The paper reviews regulatory data, market conditions, and operational evidence from community and small independent broadcasters. It finds that while Small-Scale DAB has increased digital capacity in some areas, a significant number of services are unable to participate on sustainable terms due to transmission costs, multiplex governance arrangements, coverage requirements, and ongoing liabilities.  Read more here:

Norwegian Shame: Swiss DAB Fiasco Ignored By Media And Politicians

The unique initiative to shut down the FM network in Norway not the success story expected .

In 2017, Norway's nationwide FM network was shut down and replaced with digital terrestrial radio DAB+. This after a decade of debate that was characterized by a compact resistance both in public opinion and in the editorial and readers’ pages of the daily press. Today, Norway is still the only country in the world to have shut down its national FM network. Switzerland was supposed to be the second country to do the same, but its government recently changed its plans to shut down FM at the end of this year. The public broadcaster SRF, which shut down its FM network a year ago and thereby lost many listeners, has now announced plans to restart FM in 2026.

The fiasco in Switzerland has received a lot of attention in other countries that have DAB radio on their agenda. Considering how Norway up until 2017 was beating the drum for its DAB initiative both at home and abroad, it is remarkable with the total silence today. Why? Read more about this here:

FM Radio Mandatory in New Cars 2027. Sweden Following Finland

Important choice for preparedness and security. DAB radio remains a marginal platform for Swedish radio listeners.

The Radio and Television Distribution Inquiry proposes to the government mandatory access to listening to analogue FM radio should be available in all new passenger vehicles on the market from 2027. Since 2021, there is an EU regulation on the reception of digital terrestrial radio in new cars that have a car radio installed. But this does not go far enough according to the inquiry. It is difficult to more closely assess the extent of listening to DAB+ compared to FM. However, some growth in listening to DAB+ is discernible according to public broadcaster Sveriges Radio. The average daily reach in 2013-2018 was zero percent of the population aged 12–79. In 2019, it rose to 0.1 percent to reach 1.3 percent in 2023.-  Sweden now follows Finland, which already in 2020 introduced a law on FM in cars. There is no DAB broadcasting in Finland.