News stories relating to digital radio. Covers DAB/DAB+, digital TV transmissions, and online streaming platforms.
The radio resources page (accessed from drop down in menu above) contains further information on digital radio.
Ofcom is allowing an additional year for the licensees of three new local DAB multiplexes to launch, as detailed in the table.
| Multiplex | Original Launch Deadline | New Deadline |
| Channel Islands | October 2020 | October 2021 |
| Morecambe Bay | December 2020 | December 2021 |
| North and West Cumbria | December 2020 | December 2021 |
All three multiplex license holders are aiming to launch the services ahead of the deadline.
The BBC are cutting some regional TV shows, in order to cut costs. 450 job losses are expect, with the axing of inside out the most prominent move.
Regionally news bulletins on the Breakfast programme (BBC One) will return, although a date for this has not been announced. All 6.30pm news bulletins will have a single presenter going forward. The regional politics programmes will be reinstated, but with a new format to reach a wider audience.
Inside Out, which has 11 regional variations will be replaced with a new investigation programme, from 6 larger regions. The unnamed programme will focus on single investigation per programme, rather than three 10 minute long segments.
Perhaps the biggest changes are at the local radio stations in England, which will retain the standard blocks of 4 hour long programmes introduced initially as a temporary measure back in March. Local programmes will be retained between 6am and 10pm, with a new national late show planned for 10pm to 1am. All shows will have 1 presenter only.
Some of the cuts are necessary due to the delays in reintroducing TV license charges for the over 75s, and the cost of covering the licenses for those on Pension Credit.
You may be aware that Talk Radio and Talk Sport 2 have both converted to DAB+. DAB+ is a newer form of DAB, which uses the more efficient AAC codec. This allows for a more efficient use of the bandwidth available, allowing more radio stations to broadcast on a single frequency.
Both stations switched from 64 kbps normal DAB (mono LSF) to 32 kbps DAB+ stereo, allowing Times Radio to launch in the 64 kbps of space made available. Talk Radio ran dual transmissions on DAB and DAB+ for a time, to assist listeners with the switch, and this gave the opportunity to compare DAB against DAB+.
The switch to DAB+ does not appear to have reduced sound quality, although perhaps there is a slight reduction in clarity. What seems a little pointless are Talk Radio and Talk Sport 2’s stereo configuration, as both are near 100% speech based stations.
Perhaps, keeping DAB+ but reverting to mono may remove the slight clarity issue.This is in stark contrast with rival speech station LBC News, which although currently uses 24 kbps DAB+ (mono), did at launch use the same DAB+ configuration as Talk Radio and suffered badly from bubbling noises and was (and still is) extremely difficult to listen to. There is a possibility that radio stations encoding equipment can affect DAB+ sound quality.
On the whole, the Talk Radio and Talk Sport 2 switch to DAB+ has enabled an additional station to launch, without sacrificing audio quality, and can only be beneficial for listeners. However, it was worth considering those who do not have a DAB+ compatible radio, who will need to replace this to continue to access Talk Radio and Talk Sport 2. Perhaps, with the launch of Times Radio using normal DAB, this could be described as a one step forward, two steps back scenario for some.
Two radios have been used to test Talk Radio on DAB and DAB+, a Sony portable mains unit, and a Roberts pocket DAB radio. Both gave similar results.
Ahead of the launch of the new speech station Times Radio on Monday (29th June 2020), the station has now gone live on the SDL National DAB multiplex, reaching around 80 to 90% of the UK population.
Following the switch of Talk Radio to DAB+, Times Radio has taken the old normal DAB slot, so is broadcasting at 64 kbps mono.
Additionally, there has been a slight re-labeling of Talk Sport 2, which also made the switch to DAB+. The 8 digit station name is now ‘tkSP2’ rather ‘tkSPORT2’. On some DAB+ radios, the station now appears before the main Talk Sport station in the alphabetical station list.
Updated November 2021: Spelling/grammar corrections, plus some minor updates.
As has been widely reported, many radio listeners (both digital and analogue) have lost local programmes on their local commercial radio station. This has been the result of two acquired monopolies, Bauer Media and Global acquiring most commercial radio stations in the UK, and merging several local stations into national brands.
There is little for the listener to do, as protests and petitions go largely ignored, and the regulator Ofcom has permitted the changes. However, one course of action is to be boycott Bauer Media and Global owned stations.
This may not be easy, as several national DAB/DAB+ radio stations are also owned by these two companies, and by tuning around the dial, chances are you’ll end up on a Bauer or Global owned station.
Bauer Media own the following stations (not including brand extensions):
Global own the following stations (not including brand extensions):
Starting with National alternatives, there are the usual BBC stations, plus Talk Sport on DAB and MW (owned by News UK), and UCB1 on DAB. These stations are available in most areas, with the BBC having particularly good DAB coverage.
If you can receive the SDL national DAB multiplex, Talk Radio, Virgin Radio and soon to launch Times Radio are also options (all owned by News UK). Sunrise Radio and Premier Christian Radio are also options if you’re after religion based programmes. There’s also Jack Radio and Union Jack from Oxis Media, both rock/pop music based, two Virgin spin-offs, forces station BFBS, and children’s station Fun Kids.
On a local level options will vary considerably. The BBC still maintain a network of local stations in England, and regional (nations) services for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Most broadcast 5 Live overnight, but day time programmes are still locally produced.
Additionally, some local commercial stations do remain, including Radio Essex, Sun FM, Kingdom FM, More Radio, and KMFM, amongst others. Most are on FM, but some like Pure Radio in Central Scotland are DAB only (although Pure and Wave FM in Tayside are about to merge to form an enlarged Pure Radio). Sadly, Imagine FM and Ipswich 102 previously listed here have also now fallen to the Bauer Media combine.
Community radio stations also exist in large numbers, although with much smaller coverage areas. Many have a local ethos, which may appeal to displaced Bauer and Global listeners. However, some of these stations are a more specialist music and religious offering, so are not a replacement for local commercial stations.
There are far too many community stations to name check them all, but they include Amber Sound (Amber Valley), K107 FM (Kirkcaldy), 107 Meridian FM (East Grinstead), Pride Radio (Newcastle and Gateshead), and Radio Tyneside (also Newcastle and Gateshead).
Moving online, there are loads of stations to choose from, such as Cyber Rock, Pure Beat Radio, Motorsport Radio and many others. Tunein (app and online) may be a good place to start, and the Radio Feeds website does list some online only stations.
And, if you really hate radio now (and to be honest I can’t blame you), streaming services such as Spotify and Amazon Music offer a low cost way to explore new music. Loads of music videos are available on Youtube as well. You could always download an MP3 or two, or go back to those spinning disks called CDs and vinyl records.
Both Talk Sport 2 and Talk Radio have switched to DAB+ transmission on the SDL National DAB multiplex. Talk Sport 2 has made a direct switch, meaning some older DAB radios can no longer receive the service
Talk Radio has begun a period of dual transmission, with the new DAB+ service identified by a ‘+’ at the end of the station name. Dual transmission ends on 26th June, allowing some time for listeners to upgrade their radios if required.
Both stations have switched from 64 kbps mono, to 32 kbps DAB+ stereo. The use of stereo is unlikely to be of benefit as both services are talk based, but the changes free up additional space for new services, including the forthcoming Times Radio. Unlike some other DAB+ services which suffer from poor sound quality, Talk Radio and Talk Sport 2 do not appear to be affected in the same way.
Talk Radio, Talk Sport 2, and Times Radio are all operated by News UK’s subsidiary Wireless Group, who alos hold a 30% share in the SDL National DAB multiplex. SDL stands for Sound Digital Limited.
Kingdom FM has now joined the Central Scotland DAB multiplex, ahead of the official DAB launch tomorrow (30th October). The station replaces Rocksport Radio, which is continuing online.
Kingdom FM is broadcasting using ‘original’ DAB in stereo at 128 kbps. This offer slightly better sound quality than local rival Forth 1 who currently use 112 kbps (also stereo).
The Central Scotland DAB multiplex covers the central belt of Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife, Falkirk, Stirling and North Ayrshire. Kingdom FM will remain focused on Fife, but now has an expanded coverage area.
Viamux have partnered with industry website Radio Today to offer free regional small scale DAB workshops.
The sessions will offer guidance on how to set up and run a DAB+ multiplex, as well as advice on writing license applications, funding equipment, and finding partner stations.
A live demonstration of software-defined radio also forms part of the sessions.
The first workshops are; Belfast on Saturday 14th September, Edinburgh on Saturday 28th September, and
Newcastle-upon-Tyne on Saturday 5th October
For more details, visit the Viamux website at www.viamux.com/workshops.html
The dominant monopoly that is Global Radio has expanded its presence on DAB. National duplicates of Capital, Heart and Smooth have been added to the Lincolnshire DAB multiplex and the Hereford and Worcester DAB multiplex.
These services are already available on the D1 national multiplex. Capital UK has a national 80 kbps mono slot, as does Smooth (labelled as Smooth Extra), and Heart has a 32kbps low quality stereo DAB+ slot (labelled as Heart Extra).
The new versions are all in stereo ‘original version’ DAB, with a bit rate of 112kbps, offering slightly better sound quality. These services are exactly the same as the national versions, and do not widen the choice of services available.
