Two stories you should be aware of this week that may cause you to worry about the future of radio on the internet.
The first was a claim that Apple were about to ban single station radio apps from their iTunes store. Apple clarified this by saying they expected radio apps to deliver more than just the station logo and a link to the audio stream. They compare simple apps like that to spam-like “fart” apps. Just what you want your radio station to be compared to, right ?
The second …

I attended the recent EBU Digital Radio Conference in Belfast where an affirmative plan has been put in place by the EBU to advance the actual introduction of digital radio across Europe.
What surprised me most about the conference was the amount of consensus and agreement despite the room being full of disparate parties and viewpoints. Three points came across loud and clear; co-operation between interested parties, content is king and the importance of the internet.
Co-Operation
In her keynote speech Clare Duignan, RTÉ Director of Radio, said public and commercial broadcasters need …

Good to hear lots of positivity around DAB from within the industry. At last weeks Digital Radio Conference in Belfast, the consensus was that the road to DAB will be a long run and a hard journey, but it is most definitely the way to go. As previously reported the EBU are now to lobby the EU to establish DAB as the main broadcasting platform for the future.
Another positive update also today on DAB progress worldwide from WorldDMB which reads as follows;
While traditional radio listening is threatened by new …

This afternoon over 150 delegates from more than 30 European countries came to agreement on a roadmap for the future of European digital radio. The delegates were attending the 4th annual European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Digital Radio Conference at the Europa Hotel in Belfast.
The conference agreement is a first for European radio. Up to this point the industry has found it difficult to reach any consensus on digital radio with debate often focussing on the merits or drawbacks of different technologies.
Under the Roadmap for the Future Europe’s public …

The last big FM licence to be awarded to the Dublin market came on air today.
Radio Nova 100.3FM, named after a local legendary 80s pirate, is running a classic rock format.
The elaborate launch at 1pm involved a barge on the River Liffey, at the epicentre of the city, on which a Guns’n’Roses tribute band played live. Banner branding on the barge, the river quays and even a light aircraft above made a big splash. The on-air side of the launch was strangely muted though as you’ll hear from the …

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Commercial Radio Australia are to trial sending Podcasts over-the-air via DAB+ to a listeners radio eliminating any need to connect to the internet.
Podcasts are great. You pick what programme you want and listen to it when it suits you best. The downside is you need to find them, download them, and transfer them to an mp3 player and so on. Broadcasting Podcasts direct to a radio receiver eliminates all that downside leaving listeners with just the benefits.
This is what we love about DAB radio. Lots more stations, Slideshow displaying …

To the annoyance of DAB detractors digital radio continues to grow in the UK.
The latest RAJAR results for digital radio are stunning.
In Reach, that is how many people use it however briefly, digital radio is heard by 38.5% of the population at some stage during an average week.
Most importantly in Share, that is out of all listening to all radio how much is shared by digital, the amazing result is 24%. Wow! Just on a quarter of ALL radio listening in the UK is now done using a digital receiver …

This week the Broadcasting Authority (BAI) announced their contract negotiations with all three potential operators of digital terrestrial television (DTT) have now failed.
The process started over two years ago with the award of the licence in principal to Boxer, the combined Denis O’Brien Communicorp and Swedish Boxer group. After a year they withdrew from the process citing the economy and breakdown of negotiations with RTÉ as reasons.
The licence was then offered to the runners-up, OneVision, the Eircom/TV3 consortium. After another year they too withdrew also citing breakdown of negotiations …

A new DAB trial has begun in the South-East of Ireland serving Wexford, Waterford, Tipperary, Carlow and Kilkenny.
The trial, operating under a one year ComReg licence on Band III 9B, is being run by Total Broadcast Ltd in Waterford. Initially the trial is simulcasting local radio services.
The trial will encompass tests on station bitrates, transmission power and location in addition to a planned trial of DAB+.
The multiplexer itself was constructed by the team at Total Broadcast. Knowing the system from the ground up will allow the company to experiment greatly …

It is with profound regret we’ve had to remove our online All 80s service as we have been unable to renegotiate an equitable music royalty rate with the main music copyright agencies.
The online rate quoted by both the PPI and MCPS/IMRO is 0.001 cent per song per listener. Though it sounds miniscule collectively it equates to € 260 per listener per year. If we have just 1,000 listeners it’s plain to see that a royalty in excess of a quarter of a million euro becomes an unworkable sum.
We very much …