Radio – set for a digital future? Gill Hind Radio’s transition from analogue to digital has been slow, +44 207 851 0913
[email protected] with no switchover date yet in sight 16 years after Digital Julian Aquilina Audio Broadcasting’s (DAB) commercial launch +44 207 851 0907
[email protected] Recent initiatives intended to boost DAB are welcome, but 31 March 2015 [2015-030] most will not be transformatory as they offer little new to the consumer However, the award of the second national commercial multiplex to Sound Digital with the launch of new, compelling content in 2016 could finally give radio listeners the reason to upgrade and make a case for switchover Radio and television both commenced digital transmissions in the late 90s, but the pace of digital radio uptake has been markedly slower. The BBC and the larger commercial radio companies are having to continue to simulcast their analogue services in DAB, adding significantly to their cost bases. While television completed digital switchover (DSO) in 2012, a future radio switchover date is still many years away. Prior to setting a date certain criteria need to be met, but by the end of 2013 none had been achieved and thus the Government produced a package of measures to aid DAB uptake. One such measure was to announce that a new national digital multiplex would be advertised by Ofcom. This licence was awarded on 27 March 2015 to Sound Digital Limited, a consortium comprising of Arqiva, Bauer Media and UTV Media. This note looks at the history of DAB in the UK, the progress that has been made, and explores why we believe the award of this multiplex could be the catalyst the industry needs to successfully secure its digital future.