Ofcom | More digital radio for UK listeners
More digital radio stations are on their way to UK listeners. Around 15 new national DAB stations are expected to be on air next year.
In July 2014,Ofcom ivited applications to run a second national, commercial digital radio multiplex. We have received two applications to run the multiplex, which is a discrete chunk of the airwaves needed to broadcast radio stations.
Ofcom hopes to award the licence by summer 2015 and the first new digital stations are expected to be on air in 2016.
The applications are from:
Listen2Digital: A joint application from Babcocks Media Services business and Orion Media, a commercial radio group. Listen2Digital is proposing to provide 18 national DAB services.
Sound Digital: A consortium of Arqiva, a transmission company, and commercial radio broadcasters Bauer and UTV Media GB. Sound Digital is proposing to provide 15 national DAB services.
Ofcom expects to publish non-confidential versions of the applicants proposals next week and will invite comments from listeners and the industry. Each application will be assessed against specified criteria, in what is known as a 'beauty contest'.
Digital radio in the UK
Almost half of UK adults (48.5%) say they now own a DAB digital radio set and 36.3% of all radio listening is on a digital radio.
The first national, commercial DAB multiplex, operated by Digital One, is now at full capacity as the number of national, commercial digital stations has risen from four to 14 since 2009.
This has led to the need for more capacity so Ofcom advertised the second, commercial DAB multiplex in July 2014.
The BBCs digital radio stations, including 1Xtra, 6 Music, Radio 4 Extra and Asian Network, are broadcast on a DAB multiplex owned and operated by the BBC.
Supporting local digital radio
As well as increasing the capacity for national digital radio, Ofcom is supporting the Local DAB Expansion plan, which will bring local DAB radio services from commercial broadcasters and the BBC to even more UK homes.
We have published predicted coverage maps showing what local DAB listeners in each area could expect to receive, both indoors and in-car, when the Local DAB Expansion Plan is completed in the second half of 2016.
The coverage maps are the result of detailed technical planning work, led by Ofcom over the past two years to inform the planned expansion.
Quote:
More digital radio stations are on their way to UK listeners. Around 15 new national DAB stations are expected to be on air next year.
In July 2014,Ofcom ivited applications to run a second national, commercial digital radio multiplex. We have received two applications to run the multiplex, which is a discrete chunk of the airwaves needed to broadcast radio stations.
Ofcom hopes to award the licence by summer 2015 and the first new digital stations are expected to be on air in 2016.
The applications are from:
Listen2Digital: A joint application from Babcocks Media Services business and Orion Media, a commercial radio group. Listen2Digital is proposing to provide 18 national DAB services.
Sound Digital: A consortium of Arqiva, a transmission company, and commercial radio broadcasters Bauer and UTV Media GB. Sound Digital is proposing to provide 15 national DAB services.
Ofcom expects to publish non-confidential versions of the applicants proposals next week and will invite comments from listeners and the industry. Each application will be assessed against specified criteria, in what is known as a 'beauty contest'.
Digital radio in the UK
Almost half of UK adults (48.5%) say they now own a DAB digital radio set and 36.3% of all radio listening is on a digital radio.
The first national, commercial DAB multiplex, operated by Digital One, is now at full capacity as the number of national, commercial digital stations has risen from four to 14 since 2009.
This has led to the need for more capacity so Ofcom advertised the second, commercial DAB multiplex in July 2014.
The BBCs digital radio stations, including 1Xtra, 6 Music, Radio 4 Extra and Asian Network, are broadcast on a DAB multiplex owned and operated by the BBC.
Supporting local digital radio
As well as increasing the capacity for national digital radio, Ofcom is supporting the Local DAB Expansion plan, which will bring local DAB radio services from commercial broadcasters and the BBC to even more UK homes.
We have published predicted coverage maps showing what local DAB listeners in each area could expect to receive, both indoors and in-car, when the Local DAB Expansion Plan is completed in the second half of 2016.
The coverage maps are the result of detailed technical planning work, led by Ofcom over the past two years to inform the planned expansion.