Year: 2023

DAB+ is now established as the core future platform for radio in Europe and Australia. DAB+ has a huge range of receivers for home and portable use with prices starting around 20 USD and now comes as standard in over 90% of new cars sold in Europe.DAB+ is now either established or under consideration in virtually all European countries as the expansion of coverage and the number of services continues. For example, national DAB+ in France was launched in October 2021, expansion in eastern Europe in 2022 including Poland and the Czech Republic, and Switzerland is preparing to switch off FM in 2024. We are also seeing a step change in interest in Africa and Middle East with multiple new deployments being undertaken for both permanent services and technical trials and demonstrations.Within this context the establishment of DAB+ in South East Asia is being led by activities in Thailand. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC) in conjunction with the Royal Thai Army Radio and Television have been running a high power DAB+ trial in the Thai capital of Bangkok since 2018. A second project has been established to test DAB+ in four major regional areas, Chon Buri south of Bangkok, Chiang Mai in the north, Khon Kaen in the northeast, and Song Khla in the south of Thailand. The regional trails are an extension of the Bangkok trial and focus on determining the suitable technical standard and parameters for the regional areas.

The NBTC commissioner for Radio Broadcast Air-Vice-Marshall Dr. Thanapant said: “The NBTC is now considering how to deliver state-of-the-art DAB digital broadcast radio to all of Thailand to ensure that the public can receive high quality radio with increased services. The results of the regional trial will be useful input into that process”.The DAB+ system design was completed  by the end of 2018 and the transmission sites, regional broadcasters’ input programs and the network implementation are in progress. The new transmissions include high power, 10 kW ERP, sites in Chiang Mai,  Khon Kaen and Song Khla to provide wide area coverage. The current Bangkok ensemble is being updated with six new services from the regional areas and form a prototype example of a national ensemble.The testing to be conducted includes comprehensive field testing to verify and update coverage field strength predictions, with particular attention being paid to the impact of building types and heights on received signal strength and quality. Indoor tests will also be undertaken in a range of in-building environments to determine the building entry loss for different types of buildings in Thailand.The Royal Thai Army TV5 is working with a number of suppliers to test new Announcement capabilities in a newly developed home/portable receiver product. The use of the Announcement feature is increasing with the Alarm Announcement (Emergency Warning) now being mandatory for portable receivers as per ETSI Technical Specification 103 461. There is also increasing interest in other announcements e.g. in Norway Announcements are regularly delivered for Traffic and Public Transport and in Germany DAB is being be integrated into a new national warning system. In Thailand the current emphasis is on the Alarm Announcement as well as the potential to use the Announcement system for local alerts such as traffic, news and other warnings such as Air-Quality.The testing programme will provide important feedback to the NBTC to help assess the cost benefits for DAB+ in Thailand. Currently there is significant congestion in FM broadcasting and little opportunity for new services. DAB+ offers a route to provide a state-of-the-art digital broadcasting solution with additional high quality audio services in defined interference free coverage areas.The initial testing is expected to be complete by the end of February 2023, however the regional trial is set to run until 2024. […]

Radiodays Asia,  the leading radio and podcasting conference in the Asia-Pacific, will be back 5-6 September in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.“It has never been more important to have a global perspective on media trends, consumer behaviour, competition, new technology and business opportunities. Though your radio or podcast might be local or national, the challenges and competiiton facing your business is global. That opportunity to get ahead of your competition and future-proof your service and business is what Radiodays Asia offers,” says Anders Held, Project Director of Radiodays Asia and Founder of Radiodays Europe.Radiodays Asia is a collaboration between Radiodays Europe, the world´s largest and leading conference for radio, audio and podcast, and broadcasting and podcast partners in Asia and Australia. The 2023 edition will run over 2 days in 2 tracks with 50 sessions. Top international speakers and industry leaders as well as succesful producers and market experts will share their insights.

Top ratings from attendeesSince 2019 Radiodays Asia is the meeting point for everyone in radio-audio-podcasting who wants to understand more about the challenges of today and tomorrow. The event will bring 400 attendees from 40 countries together with a top-quality programme and many networking opportunities to meet and learn from colleagues in the audio industry.Participants at Radiodays Asia have been overwhelmingly positive. The participant rating is 4,2 on a 1-5 scale with 90% rating the event a 4 or a 5.Podcast SummitAsia Podcast Summit will be part of this year´s Radiodays Asia. A full day dedicated to bring podcasters together and discuss how to develop your podcast business – how to format, market and monetize your podcast. A chance to learn from the most successful in podcasting and to network with other creative podcasters.Where and when?Radiodays Asia will be held at the Royale Chulan Hotel in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Additional workshop and specialst meetings will be organised on Monday 4 September, while the main conference is held 5-6 September. More information will follow.PartnersRadiodays Asia is supported by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), Public Media Alliance, Commercial Radio Malaysia, Indonesia Private Radio Association, Commercial Radio Australia, Radio Operators for India, Radio Festival India, Radio Broadcasters Association NZ, Podnews, radioinfo.asia and others.You will find registration and more information about the event on radiodaysasia.com.If you have suggestions for speakers or topics for Radiodays Asia 2023 please send these to Anders Held, Project Director, Radiodays Asia at [email protected] […]

Benztown and P1 Media Group will host a free webinar for radio professionals around the globe, entitled From Street Teamer to Morning Radio Superstar – How Kris Fade From Virgin Radio Dubai Built a Multimedia Empire.
The webinar is 27th in the companies’ Global Radio Ideas webinar series from top radio experts from around the world.
The 40-minute webinar will be hosted by Andreas Sannemann, CEO, Benztown, and Ken Benson, Partner, P1 Media Group, and will feature Kris Fade, Host of the #1 Rated Morning Show, The Kris Fade Show, on Virgin Radio 104.4 in Dubai.

Fade, often called “the Ryan Seacrest of the Middle East” talks to attendees live from Dubai, sharing the fascinating stories behind his meteoric career.
Fade began his radio journey working on the street team at The Edge 96.1 in his hometown of Sydney, Australia, later becoming the station’s Music Director and Afternoon Drive Host.
In 2008, he moved to Dubai to help launch Virgin Radio’s first station in the Middle East.
Within two years, Virgin Radio Dubai dominated the English market, and Virgin has been the market ratings and revenue leader ever since, due much in part to his Breakfast Show, which is also heard daily on Virgin Radio Lebanon.
Fade is not only a radio star; he recently starred in a top-rated Netflix reality series.
In Thursday’s webinar, Fade will share revealing stories from behind-the-scenes of building a multimedia empire, and will take attendees’ questions and cover topics including:

How he helped launch Richard Branson’s first Virgin Radio station in the Middle East and what it’s like to work with Branson.
How he adapted to the Dubai market and culture after moving from Sydney and how he cultivated a massive audience at Virgin Radio.
What are the secrets to his success and what has changed in the 16 years he’s been with Virgin Radio Dubai.
How production and imaging have been key to building his personal, show, and station brands.
How he and his wife came to star in the #1 streamed Netflix series, Dubai Bling, and how the show has propelled his brand.
What it’s like to interview stars on the Red Carpet at the Oscars and to have his own wax figure in Madame Tussaud’s.

WHEN: Thursday, February 9, 2023, at 10:00am PST/1:00pm EST/7:00pm CET. […]