Dutch public-service broadcaster Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) is looking to roll out a DAB+ network for the Netherlands with 95 percent coverage by 2017.
The announcement was made at a WorldDMB seminar in The Hague.
In the tender submitted, NPO is looking to get a maximum of 20 DAB+ radio stations and up to three DMB-T video channels.
Hans Bakhuizen, NPO senior policy technology adviser, said the move demonstrated that “NPO is committed to DAB+.”
Tom Visser, project manager for digital radio at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, echoed support of DAB digital radio in the Netherlands, stating that the Dutch ministries were “fully committed” to digital radio and that the political climate was right for digital radio in the Netherlands with public and commercial broadcasters and other relevant parties working together on the expansion of digital radio.
Visser also said that it could be “interesting” for Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom — all of which have committed to DAB or DAB+ — to work together to stress the need for a clear signal from Brussels about the future of digital radio in Europe.
The WorldDMB Marketing Seminar “The Netherlands and Belgium –Best Practice for the DAB/DAB+ Industry” highlighted the opportunities for new revenues that come with DAB digital radio.
“The driver for digital radio is multiple revenue streams and lower costs. Interactivity in digital radio is such an important part of future broadcasting and the DAB family offers more content, new formats, convergence and extra services – and ultimately the consumer is the winner,” said MTVNL CEO Ronald Haanstra.
