Broadcast is for broadcasters

Jacqueline Bierhorst didn’t mince words at Radiodays Europe in the Greek capital on March 11. The WorldDAB president delivered a clear warning to radio broadcasters: don’t surrender control to unregulated tech giants. In a passionate speech, she made the case for DAB+ as the key to radio’s future, highlighting its cost efficiency, resilience in emergencies, and ability to keep broadcasters independent from third-party platforms. Here is an excerpt from that speech.

I want to explore not only the global growth of DAB+ and how it can re-energize radio but also why I believe broadcast is crucial for broadcasters. That may seem a strange thing to say or that it’s obvious. But let me explain why I think it’s important.

Some might believe that IP is the only distribution method that matters for the future. From what I have seen throughout the world, I can only say, never let your own broadcast distribution ecosystem fade out and solely become dependent on third-party aggregators on IP.

For one, in times of emergency, IP can fail completely, and a broadcast network is indispensable for communication and safety. 

Giving away control

Unregulated tech giants do not have your interests at heart. You have given away your control of how — and even IF — your listeners can hear you. All the beautiful content you create should be accessible for free everywhere over the airwaves — not something third-party platforms can put behind a paywall, resell or even censor. This is why broadcast is critical for broadcasters.

With broadcast, you have the option of analog FM or digital DAB+. We have heard so much about AI and the digital future. DAB+ offers all the benefits of a fully digital experience. It levels the playing field in the dashboard, keeps us independent from tech giants and gives us leverage in our conversations with them.

It allows high-quality text, graphics and station logos, which means your station looks its best in the car and every bit as good as the big apps you’re now competing with for “share of ear.” Across Europe, DAB+ has been available in almost all cars as standard since the end of 2020. That’s almost five years of cars — at least — now able to access DAB+. Our latest figures show almost 150 million receivers in the market in total.

DAB+ is a proven success right now around the world. Think of it as a question of “how you do it,” not “if…” And at around one-tenth of the cost of analog transmission — it really is a no-brainer.

Switching off FM

Switchover is underway in Switzerland. The public service broadcaster SRG SSR switched off its FM transmitters at the end of the year. All of us know that listeners don’t like change, and with any move such as this, there will be some churn. But we know from experience in Norway that this will be short-lived. And the long-term benefits more than make up for it.

Alongside Switzerland, in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, private and public radio stations have reached an agreement to gradually switch to DAB+ digital radio broadcasting by 2031. This includes Deutschlandradio, which will switch to purely digital coverage with DAB+ for 16 FM stations in June.

And we continue to grow. Türkiye has just officially launched DAB+, while a high-power DAB+ trial is planned in Ireland. In Luxembourg — a key part of our radio heritage — there’s a call out for stations to join their new national DAB+ multiplex. Now, the government in Portugal is exploring a two-year DAB+ trial in Lisbon and Porto.

At Radiodays Europe, Greece’s public service broadcaster ERT announced it will roll out DAB+ nationwide by the end of the year, with 19 new sites, and Bauer Media in the U.K. revealed it will launch four new DAB+ national brand extension stations.

We know DAB+ brings benefits for broadcasters, listeners and society. In many cities around the world, FM is full, which stifles innovation and creativity in launching new services. Broadcasters are frustrated. Existing companies can’t innovate or expand coverage. New services can’t get on air. It’s about growing the cake rather than just having thinner slices.

Re-energizing radio

This is where DAB+ can re-energize radio with new stations and innovations, such as in the U.K. Last year, Capital launched a pop-up station dedicated to Taylor Swift called Capital (Taylor’s Version) to celebrate The Eras Tour coming to the U.K. It’s the first time in that country that a national DAB+ radio station has been dedicated to a single artist. This isn’t something you can do on a crowded FM band.

So, listeners get that extra choice. And we are seeing, on average, up to five times as many services on DAB+ as on analog. DAB+ offers clearer sound for listeners — particularly where FM is overcrowded.

Plus, DAB+ is reliable and robust in emergencies. We’ve launched the ‘Automatic Safety Alert’ (ASA) system. It aims to protect the public during emergencies by delivering reliable safety alerts without requiring an internet connection. Listeners will benefit from a system that alerts them even if mobile or internet connections are disrupted.

ASA operates automatically in the background, can be regionally adjusted for each location, and is highly resilient thanks to the robust DAB+ radio transmission network.

For all these reasons, I firmly believe we need to keep broadcast as the backbone for broadcasters.

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 edition of RedTech Magazine

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