SYDNEY � In-car listening remains one of the most popular ways for Australians to listen to radio and the growing audiences on the road are expected to contribute to the significant growth of DAB+ over the next five years, according to Australia�sapplianceretailer.com.
3.6 million Australians, or 27% of the population in the five capital cities, listen to digital radio via DAB+ devices each week. There are now more than 45 extra DAB+ only stations in the five metropolitan capitals (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth).�Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast and Hobart are next in line for permanent DAB+ digital radio services. Commercial broadcasters are working closely with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Special Broadcast Service on regional rollout plans, coordinating launch dates, with permanent digital radio services expected to commence by early 2018, according to Commercial Radio Australia.�
GfK has released the year�s first DAB+ survey results, showing cumulative audience numbers for each station. This is the first time since the start of DAB+ broadcast in 2009 that audience numbers for all DAB+ only stations have been released one week after the official metropolitan GfK radio ratings.� Melbourne has the most digital radio listeners with 507,000 compared to 159,000 listeners in Adelaide.Southern Cross Austereo�is the largest commercial digital radio group with a 28.8% share of the total DAB+ listening audience, reaching 453,000 listeners a week.
Commercial Radio Australia is also reporting thatPwCestimates that nearly four million new vehicles to be sold in Australia by the end of 2021 will be fitted with DAB+ digital radio technology, accounting for�60% of total sales that year. �862,426 new vehicles sold were fitted with DAB+ as of the end of 2016.
�
