Unscrupulous DAB Introduction Will Kill Local Radio in Norway

Sharply reduced state aid to local radio, community and minority radio.

The poor must give to the rich. A successful initiative by the DAB lobby.

Despite strong protests from the local radio community, the rules for state aid to local radio changed dramatically by a decision of the Ministry of Culture. Half of the aid that previously earmarked for program production and minority radio will now be earmarked for a transition to DAB radio. Also state support to the local radio federation has been reduced by two thirds.

First Digital Radio Station in Arab Emirates

Reach out to expat Indians in the Gulf States

The world’s first Malayalam-language digital radio station is now broadcasting from United Arab Emirates. Pravasi Bharathi 810 AM is also the first digital radio station in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Mobile market surpasses 1 billion subscriptions in India

Increasing mobile broadband will change radio listening

Towards the end of 2015, India reached 1 billion mobile subscriptions, joining its neighbor China by becoming only the second member of the 1 billion club, according to global analyst firm Ovum. In a new forecast report it was found that comparisons were inevitable, though China reached this milestone almost three years ago. 

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.

New York to Replace Pay Phones With Superfast Free Wi-Fi

On-line radio and television consumption will be free and more accessible
New York City will begin this month replacing thousands of pay phones with free Wi-Fi hot spots. The city expects to have 500 hot spots installed by July, and eventually about 7,500 units will be replaced. The project, called LinkNYC, is being run by the company CityBridge, which is investing more than $200 million. CityBridge says its Wi-Fi will deliver broadband speeds of 1,000 megabits a second, about 100 times typical speeds provided by wireless carriers. 

DAB Scandal in Norway: License Fees Fund Guarantee for Private Radio

Government forced to release secret deal. Will the new minister of culture reconsider the FM closure plan?

The former CEO of the public service broadcaster NRK, Hans Tore Bjerkaas, has put his signature on a secret deal between the DAB promotion company Digitalradio Norge and the broadcast provider Norkring. The deal worth 63 million NEK is safeguarding the Swedish broadcaster MTG participation for DAB+ distribution for its network P4 Radio Hele Norge. This means that license fee funding has been used in order to prop up a private foreign owned company.

Spotify Takes Command of In-Car Music Listening

New Tesla deal might put broadcast radio in the shadow

Tesla's Model S electric car series will now ship with Spotify Premium integration, replacing former music partner Rdio, in Europe, Australia and Hong Kong. Current Model S owners will also benefit from the feature thanks to an over-the-air software upgrade, according to The Telegraph.