At RadioDays Europe in Athens, Greece, WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst provided an update on the state of the DAB+ broadcast standard and encouraged broadcasters to embrace over-the-air transmissions.
Bierhorst’s March 11 session was titled “Save Our Airwaves — DAB+ Outlook and Experiences.” WorldDAB is the group that advocates for the DAB digital broadcast platform.
In a transcript of Bierhorst’s speech provided by WorldDAB, she spoke of her 35 years of experience in broadcast, which spanned both the public and private sectors. She was the project leader during the DAB+ rollout for all commercial broadcasters in the Netherlands.
Bierhorst indicated that DAB+ is expanding in Africa, the Asia-Pacific and the Arab States. She highlighted how Saudi Arabia began using the standard in 2023. She also lauded the platform’s effective use of automotive dashboard space with its embedded text and station graphics, which she said is necessary to compete against mobile apps that project displays in the car.
“At around one-tenth of the cost of analog transmission, it is really a no-brainer,” Bierhorst said of DAB+ transmitter energy costs, according to the transcript.
Bierhorst said that nearly 150 million receivers in Europe have access to DAB+. She also said the platform comes standard in most vehicles sold in Europe since the end of 2020.
Future expansion
In the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, Bierhorst said the Deutschlandradio network will switch to an all-DAB+ format for its 16 stations in June.
Bierhorst noted the start of DAB+ tests in Turkey and that tests will start shortly in Ireland, as Radio World reported.
She also said there is a call in Luxembourg for stations to join a new national DAB+ multiplex.
[Related: “WorldDAB Summit: FM Shutdowns in Germany and Switzerland”]
In Portugal, Bierhorst said that its government is exploring a two-year DAB+ trial in the cities of Lisbon and Porto.
Bierhorst said Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT, will begin nationwide DAB+ broadcasting from 19 sites by the end of this year.
In the U.K., she indicated that Bauer Media will launch four new DAB+ networks by the end of March.
Listeners will adapt
Bierhorst said the question for countries who consider a switch to DAB+ is a matter of not “if,” but “how.”
She pointed to Switzerland’s ongoing DAB+ switchover, which included its public broadcaster SRG SSR’s shut down of their analog FM transmitters at the end of 2024. She also mentioned Norway’s total DAB+ conversion.
There will be listener churn at the onset of the switchovers, Bierhorst said, but that the long-term benefits outweigh any initial losses.
“Never let your own ecosystem fade out”
Bierhorst’s message beyond the current state of DAB+ was that the word broadcast itself is crucial for broadcasters.
“That may seem a strange thing to say or that it’s obvious,” Bierhorst said, according to WorldDAB’s transcript.
She addressed the notion that IP-based distribution is the only future broadcast method that matters. She warned broadcasters to not become too coupled to third-party IP-based distributors.
[Related: “Bierhorst Highlights the Role of Metadata and Voice Control]
“The unregulated tech giants do not have your interests at heart,” Bierhorst said. She warned that tech platform providers can switch broadcasters off “at a whim.”
“Never let your own broadcast distribution ecosystem fade out,” Bierhorst told the audience.
She referenced the possibility of IP-based transmission failing in an emergency. “A broadcast network is indispensable for communication and/or safety,” she said.
Bierhorst said that the content the people in audience create should remain free, over the airwaves.
“This is why broadcast is critical for broadcasters,” Bierhorst said.
