DAB Radio Consumer Demand: Clouds on the Horizon

WorldDAB paints a positive picture but hides from many obstacles

At the WorldDAB Summit 2021 promotional venue several DAB stakeholders painted a positive picture of developments of this radio platform, foremost in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Today, 40 percent of French people can listen to digital audio broadcasting, said Hervé Godechot from the media authority CSA. Next year, half of French listeners will have 465 digital radio [stations] available at home.

However, a presentation about the recent UK Digital Radio and Audio Review poured some cooler water on the conversation according to a RadioWorld article. For instance, although DAB will be the primary platform for radio well into the next decade,” said Ian O’Neill, head radio/head of television for the U.K. government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport, setting a firm date for shutting off FM could end up sabotaging digital radio.

Battle for FM: Swiss Shutdown Could Be Delayed Even Further

Parliamentarian: "The DAB standard is actually history"

Nach dem UKW-Ende ist vor dem DAB-Aus:
 «Vielleicht müsste man dann irgendwann über
 die Abschaltung von DAB diskutieren», sagt
Ruedi Noser. (Photo Screenshot Parlamentsdienste)

The upper house of the Swiss parliament approves the MP Ruedi Noser (liberals) and media pioneer Roger Schawinski and supports the motion against a FM switch-off. The politician emphasizes that the promotion of DAB should not lead to unsound consumer investments.

In the council debate last week Ruedi Noser questioned the DAB introduction, which the federal government has built up in recent years with expensive campaigns and subsidies.

In June the Zurich FDP Council of States had submitted a motion demanding that the parliament only switch off FM “when DAB and/or Internet radio reception has reached a market share of around 90 percent”. A “neutral body” should monitor this.

Norway To Retain FM Radio For Another Ten Years

Good news for local radio but not for the DAB lobby

Today the government led by the conservative Erna Solberg was replaced by a coalition of the Social Democrats and the Center Party (Sp). The new government declaration clarifies that the focus is on local radio being able to continue broadcasting on FM until 2031. MP Åslaug Sem-Jacobsen (Sp) has supported local radio in the desire for extension and is very pleased with today's statement: This is something I have worked a lot with, and therefore I am happy that we in SP have had an impact on the platform, she says. Even if this coalition government will not have a majority in the Stortinget, Sem-Jacobsen believes that the proposal will be adopted. 

German state of Saxony writes off previous schedule for FM switch-off

Market demand will now steer technology choice for future radio platform.

Saxony has one of the best DAB+ coverage in the country. According to previous plans would FM be phased out in 2025. Now the government of Saxony has decided that there will not be any shutdown date for FM.  

The proportion of use of DAB + and radio via the Internet has increased in recent years - while the use of FM is declining. However, Saxon Media Minister Oliver Schenk believes that commercial radio stations must be taken into account. It’s a life or death matter; their advertising revenue. If you turn off a technology like FM, which is widely used today, and switch to a new standard that is not yet widely used by the population, there will automatically be less money in the coffers. "And this is a problem for an industry that already had major problems during the pandemic," the media minister said.

Internet Most Important Platform for Digital Radio in Germany

Stagnant Growth for DAB while FM radio remains strong 

The latest figures on digital radio use for the entire population over the age of 14 were presented by KANTAR/die Medienanstalten at the digital radio day in Berlin. There are now many indications that the Internet continues to take over as the most important platform for digital radio.
Although the exponential growth is not realized, according to "Digitization report Audio 2021", 27% (last year 24.3%) of households in Germany have at least one DAB receiver. The still dominant radio distribution platform FM has a penetration of 88.9%, but with a slight downward trend. Radio receivers for the internet are found in 16.8% of households (this share does not include smartphones, laptops, etc.). 48.9% of the respondents use Internet radio. An increase of 9% compared with the previous year.      (More facts and analysis below).

FM Remains the Economic Basis of Commercial Radio in Germany

Alleged energy savings with DAB not enough for a comprehensive analysis.

Digitalisierungsberichts Audio (report for audio digitization) was presented today at the media authorities' Digital Radio Day in Berlin.

Marco Maier, chairman of the department for radio and audio services at the commercial radio organization VAUNET, says that the report documents the dynamics of the digital sector and the uninterrupted high relevance of FM radio in Germany. This form of distribution will therefore remain the economic basis for private commercial radio in Germany for a long time to come. Here his message is clear and he also questions another report which claims that DAB implies "green radio".