“DAB is now firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe.”
So argues WorldDAB, citing its most recent data on receiver sales, household penetration and the number of stations on the air.
[Read: DAB+ Lends a Hand in a Time of Crisis]
WorldDAB is an industry association that promotes DAB digital radio. “By the end of Q2 2020, over 93 million consumer and automotive DAB/DAB+ receivers had been sold in Europe and Asia Pacific, up from 82 million one year earlier,” it stated.
It released a detailed presentation offering a visual report card about DAB/DAB+ compared to FM in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the U.K.
“DAB is now firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe, a position underlined by a number of recent regulatory initiatives and the growing popularity of consumer and automotive DAB+ receivers worldwide,” it stated.
“On a pan-European level, the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), adopted in December 2018, requires all new car radios in the EU to be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio from 21 December 2020. Several EU countries — including Germany, the U.K. and Italy — have already introduced regulations to implement the EECC directive into national legislation, while other countries — including France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Greece, Czech Republic, Poland and Malta — have initiated procedures to implement the EECC into national legislation.”
WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon cited interest as well in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
View the WorldDAB presentation here.
The chair of Digital Radio Mondiale, another digital radio proponent, was asked by Radio World to comment on WorldDAB’s assertion that it is “the core future platform of radio in Europe.”
Ruxandra Obreja said the data from WorldDAB “gives impetus to the digitization of radio, in general.”
“We fully welcome the increase in numbers of receivers sold by DAB and the fact that the UK (DAB and DAB+), Germany (DAB+) and Norway (DAB+) continue to be on top,” Obreja wrote in an email to Radio World. “Detailed listenership figures to match the sales figures would enhance the announcement.”
She said uptake of various solutions in different countries shows that “flexibility is needed to respond to different geographic, social-cultural needs. After all, any technology, whether DAB, DRM or both, can only be the platform for good and multimedia services, excellent and attractive content which should be available to all the listeners wherever they are.”
