“DAB+ at the heart of listening” as WorldDAB elects new President

Jacqueline Bierhorst has been elected as President of WorldDAB , the global industry forum for DAB+ digital radio. Bierhorst was previously the Vice President, and has represented Digital Radio NL on the organisation’s Steering Board since 2015.

She takes over from Patrick Hannon , who is stepping down after ten years in the role. The handover took place at the annual WorldDAB Summit, held this year in Munich, Germany.

Speaking at the Summit, Bierhorst paid tribute to Hannon’s work as President. “His leadership, enthusiasm, and vision helped shape the course of WorldDAB for the past ten years. We have witnessed an exponential growth of DAB+ across the globe and how DAB+ is now included as standard in every new car in Europe and beyond. It has set the bar high!”

Bierhorst added: “It is a privilege to be part of a mission that not only has the potential to revolutionise the way the world listens to radio but is already making a huge impact helping radio thrive and making sure every person can enjoy free-to-air digital radio on the move, at home or at work, with DAB+ at the heart of this listening experience.”

Elsewhere at the conference, the President of Bavarian regulator Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien , Dr. Thorsten Schmiege , gave his prognosis for radio’s future. “If DAB+ continues to develop in this way, it seems likely that in two or three years more people will listen to radio in Bavaria via digital delivery methods than via FM,” he said. “Reason enough for us the Bavarian Regulatory Authority, as part of its ‘Audio Strategy 2025,’ to work together with broadcasters on concepts for a migration to DAB+.” Schmiege stressed this cooperation was critical: “The switchover to DAB+ can only be undertaken jointly and with the greatest possible regional coverage – it should involve as little loss of daily reach as possible,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hervé Godechot of French regulator Arcom highlighted the rapid growth of DAB. “In France, a total of 556 stations, from major networks to smaller ones, including the public service Radio France, have been authorised to broadcast on DAB+, and 110 multiplexes are currently on air. Since the summer more than half of French listeners are in areas where they access DAB+.” Godechot added that 300 new transmitters will increase population coverage to 62.2% by next March, while the DAB+ trial in the French overseas territory of Martinique has been extended to next summer. Godechot said the forthcoming “white paper” on radio would review the economics and technologies involved, alongside the evolution of uses and roads to success.

Over 400 attendees in Munich and online heard speakers set out the continuing global growth of DAB, with updates on the significant progress being made in Ghana, Indonesia, Bahrain and Australia.

DAB’s importance in Android Automotive's latest release was discussed by Joseph D'Angelo of Xperi Inc. and Gregor P?tzsch from CARIAD , Volkswagen Group. The increasing role of DAB+ in providing emergency warnings also featured, with the Chair of WorldDAB’s Technical Committee, Lindsay Cornell , giving an update the work of an Emergency Warnings task force, set up to define requirements and testing methods for receiver features ahead of international implementation. Media DAB presented Italy’s first use of DAB+ in an emergency, in this case displaying an image of a missing girl on receiver screens.

Summit sessions also included the red-hot topic of AI with Luigi Troiano of data company Kebula and Yann LEGARSON from Radioplayer exploring how DAB+ can work with AI, and how it can help personalisation, while Bayerische Medien Technik GmbH ’s Mathias Küfner described how it was using AI to generate content cover art for DAB+ displays. Dr Lawrie Hallett of the University of Bedfordshire in the UK previewed his forthcoming report on small-scale DAB+, setting out how it can “grow the digital radio cake” by helping to promote DAB in previously under-served sectors.