WorldDAB and Broadcast Networks Europe will bring policy, emergency alerting and digital migration into focus during IBC2026 in Amsterdam. Their session, “Broadcast radio’s moment: resilient, relevant, irreplaceable,” takes place Sunday, Sept. 13, from 2:30–4 p.m. in Room E102. WorldDAB Project Director Bernie O’Neill will produce and moderate the program, followed by networking coffee in the Ruby Lounge outside the conference room.
WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst will examine the global momentum behind DAB+ and present new consumer research on in-car listening. Her session will also consider why the EU Digital Networks Act represents an important legislative moment for broadcast radio in vehicles. David Fernández Quijada, co-founder and research director of South 180, will explain how WorldDAB’s Public Policy Toolbox helps markets build evidence-based arguments for DAB+ adoption and engage policymakers.
Lindsay Cornell, principal systems architect at BBC Digital, and WorldDAB Communications Manager Will Jackson will discuss the deployment of the DAB+ Automatic Safety Alert system following Germany’s national Warning Day. The system has moved beyond testing, with certified consumer devices now available, and can distribute emergency warnings without requiring an internet connection. RadioDNS Project Director and WorldDAB Vice President Nick Piggott will also assess five years of small-scale DAB licensing in the U.K. and its role in supporting new entrants, local services and digital migration.
The WorldDAB Project Office will remain on-site at IBC Stand 8.A54 throughout the event for meetings with members and other stakeholders. The team will also demonstrate Automatic Safety Alert technology and discuss the continuing international expansion of DAB+.
Visitors can register here for IBC2026 free of charge, including access to the WorldDAB conference session, using customer code IBC4581.
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