COLOGNE, Germany—Dec. 31 will bring not just the end of the calendar — it will mark the end of medium wave broadcast transmissions in Germany, according to Deutschlandfunk.de. No more noise and crackle, no more whistling and no volume fluctuations. And yet: Not a few look wistfully back on this great chapter Radio, as we know from your reactions and letters, according to Deutschlandfunk.
DeutschlandRadio (owners of both Deutschlandfunk and DeutschlandRadio Kultur) is relying upon FM, cable distribution, DAB+, as well as streaming, to distribute its programming. The head of DeutschlandRadio, Willi Steul, has also gone on-record calling for the end of the FM service across Germany. This was previously reported in Digital Radio Update. “Instead of continuing to rely on technology from the radio Stone Age, we should finally make the switch to digital radio,” said Steul.
A lot more can be transmitted over DAB+ than over VHF (FM) and it’s cheaper.
“For long-wave and medium wave we have paid around 12 million euros per year, with the majority of that being for electricity,” said Chris Weck of Deutschland Radio.