Broadcasters renew push for U.S. AM radio legislation on Capitol Hill
AMSTERDAM — During IBC2025, the Digital Radio Mondiale consortium put the focus on receivers, transmission enhancements, additional services and the recent adoption of the DRM standard in China.
Under the theme “Your connected future,” three dedicated events gathered industry stakeholders and broadcast professionals at the Starwaves, Fraunhofer IIS and Nautel stands, where companies and DRM executives shared the latest news and unveiled new equipment and features.
Starwaves has announced new and updated versions of its receiver lineup, as well as the launch of a new DRM-DAB app for Android OS, available through the Google Play Store. It also premiered a demo proving the delivery of video service via DRM.
Regarding in-car and portable receivers, RF2Digital, a provider of automotive software-defined radio solutions, announced its cooperation with Fraunhofer IIS to develop a fully integrated digital radio solution. The outcomes will include a full-chain automotive radio reception solution, designed for direct integration into in-vehicle infotainment systems and head units, as well as a USB dongle-type receiver suitable for both consumer and industrial applications.
Receivers will support AM and FM analog radio, as well as DRM (in all bands), combined with either DAB+ (in the VHF band-III) or China Digital Radio. Both DRM’s Emergency Warning Functionality and the new DAB+ Automatic Safety Alert signaling standard with emergency program content will be supported. Also, CML Micro’s DRM1000 broadcast receiver module now integrates Journaline.
Big news from China
The latest release of Fraunhofer IIS professional ContentServer headend technology for DRM and DAB+ is now readily available in products from Fraunhofer’s OEM partners. The new DAB/DRM ContentServer R8 enables broadcasters to easily put audio content and data services on air, complying with the latest standard upgrades and benefiting from a range of productivity features, including live content previews, source status and automatic audio loudness normalization and limiting.
Encompass and Bridge Technologies have launched an updated monitoring probe, capable of decoding the DRM signal in real-time while in transit between sites, assessing the proper configuration of the stream, and promptly spotting any service loss or configuration issues.
Ruxandra Obreja, DRM chairman, highlighted how China’s National Radio and Television Administration recently adopted DRM for domestic radio in the AM band and released the official industry standard: GY/T 423-2025 – Technical Specifications for Medium and Shortwave Digital Sound Broadcasting.
Obreja also announced that free DRM associate membership has been extended, and that DRM General Assembly will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, in March 2026, jointly organized by DRM and Radio Republik Indonesia.
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