Broadcast and digital radio leaders from around the world will gather in Antwerp, Belgium, on Nov. 20 for the WorldDAB Summit 2025 — the flagship annual event of the global industry forum for DAB+ digital radio. This year’s theme, “DAB+ powering the business of broadcast,” will explore how the technology continues to drive growth, innovation and long-term sustainability for radio worldwide.
WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst will open the summit with an overview of DAB+’s continued international growth. Over the past year, new launches and rollouts have taken place in Estonia, Türkiye, Luxembourg and Greece. In parallel, markets including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and several African nations have reported major progress in adoption and infrastructure development.
Bierhorst will also highlight how these advances are shaping broader strategic priorities, including spectrum efficiency, national coordination and cross-border collaboration. The update will set the stage for discussions about how governments, public broadcasters and commercial operators are working together to secure digital radio’s global future.
Public broadcasters in focus
A keynote panel will bring together Jonathan Wall, director of BBC Sounds, and Charles-Emmanuel Bon, secretary general of Radio France, in conversation with journalist and former Arcom board member Hervé Godechot. Together, they will explore how major public broadcasters are using DAB+ to deliver public value, increase diversity in programming and strengthen accessibility for listeners.
The discussion will also examine how the expansion of DAB+ services supports innovation in audio formats and multiplatform delivery, helping public media remain relevant in an increasingly competitive and fragmented landscape.
Commercial success stories from Europe and beyond
Petra Lemcke, CEO and founder of electronic music format station Sunshine Live in Germany, will share how DAB+ has helped it broaden its listener base and strengthen its brand identity. From the U.K., Sunrise Radio’s CEO Usha Parmar and director Raj Parmar will outline how the 24-hour commercial station focusing on the South Asian demographic has expanded coverage, launched new services and joined efforts to develop additional multiplexes, including in London.
Belgium’s own DAB+ experience will feature prominently. Els Van de Sijpe, head of radio VRT — the public service broadcaster for the Flemish Community of Belgium — and chair of Digitalradio Vlaanderen, and Eric Adelbrecht, CEO of maRadio.be — the consortium representing the public and private French-speaking radio sector in Belgium — will present new audience data from both Flanders and French-speaking Belgium. Their session will show how coordinated strategy, combined with local cooperation, can accelerate take-up and awareness across diverse markets.
AI, innovation and the future of radio
Laura Fisher, entertainment analyst at MiDIA Research, will explore one of the most discussed topics in today’s audio industry — the impact of AI on radio. She will argue that as automation increases, authentic human connection becomes a scarce and valuable asset that broadcasters must preserve to maintain trust and engagement.
Complementing that perspective, Katerina Borovska, senior manager for marketing and innovation at egta, the international trade body of multiplatform TV and audio businesses, will examine how radio continues to deliver measurable impact for advertisers. She will emphasize how trusted voices, dynamic audio tools and audience reach combine to keep radio at the forefront of the audio revolution.
Radio in the connected car
The automotive sector will also take center stage, with a panel including Tomas Granryd of Radio Ready — an international initiative by public and commercial broadcasters to ensure radio remains prominent, accessible, and easy to use in connected cars, Laurence Harrison, chief partnerships officer at Radioplayer Worldwide, and George Cernat, senior director of automotive connected media and DTS AutoStage at Xperi. They will discuss how industry players are collaborating to ensure radio retains its visibility and value within the connected car ecosystem.
The session will look at technological advances, data-driven listening experiences and global efforts to keep broadcast radio an essential part of the dashboard in both electric and next-generation vehicles.
Building on Belgium’s momentum
The in-person event will take place at DPG Media in central Antwerp. Registration is now open on the WorldDAB website, and session recordings will be available after the summit for on-demand viewing.
Bernie O’Neill, project director at WorldDAB, said, “We’re excited to bring the WorldDAB Summit to Antwerp, fresh off the success of Belgium’s ‘Week of the Digital Radio’ campaign. This event is the cornerstone of our calendar — a trusted platform where industry leaders from public service and commercial broadcasting come together across countries and companies. We are looking forward to a day full of insight, innovation and forward-looking discussion.”
You can find more information and register for the event here.
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