German DAB+ radio stations “poaching”

Germany’s broadcast regulator — Der Kommission für Zulassung und Aufsicht (ZAK) — has issued radio SAW, a private radio station covering the north-central state of Saxony-Anhalt a DAB license that effectively allows it to “poach” in neighboring states.

As Saxony-Anhalt’s first private radio station, dating back to 1992, radio SAW is an established FM brand. Its programming already reaches beyond the state’s borders courtesy of a powerful 100 kW transmitter on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz mountain range.

The DAB+ license that ZAK issued radio SAW on 26 July officially allows the station to extend its reach via multiplexes in neighboring states.

According to Teltarif, other commercial stations in Germany are now also pursuing this “poaching” strategy. Private radio stations ffn and Antenne Niedersachsen in Lower Saxony are planning to expand to eastern Westphalia in NRW, and Radio Nordseewelle, Radio Osnabrück and Antenne Mainz have already significantly extended their reach on DAB+. In Bavaria, practically every local radio station broadcasters much further on DAB+ than via FM. Charivari Würzburg, for example, used to serve only the Main-Franconian metropolis, but on digital radio, it reaches from Nuremberg to far beyond Mainz.