Today marks the 9th anniversary of the EBU Digital Radio Summit. With 120 delegates, the meeting kicked off with two important discussions: how can we make radio modern? And what’s next for radio in the car?
 
It is clear that nowadays everyone wants radio anytime and anywhere without hassle. But how close are we to achieving this and what barriers do broadcasters face? In his keynote, Graham Dixon (EBU) introduced how public service media can and do have a big impact on DAB, or as he put it with a twist “Delivering Audience Benefits.”
 
Richard Robinson (Strategy Analytics) shared some interesting statistics indicating the growing importance for car manufacturers to include digital radio in the car. Interestingly, he noted that data may in fact be of more value to car manufacturers who want to improve their “smart cars” and ensure essential safety features. 
 
In accordance with this, new research was released during the event by Michael Hill (Radioplayer UK) that showed that: “Eight out of ten new car drivers would never consider buying a car without a radio, according to the biggest ever survey of drivers across UK, France and Germany." 
 
The EBU also recently released its latest Market Report on Digital Radio which offers a progress report of the roll-out of digital terrestrial radio in European markets and, when relevant, other digital platforms.
 
Delegates had the unique opportunity to hear from EBU Members and the industry as they showcased their developments in the annual proud to present session. Of particular interest was the report from Digital Radio Norway on how they will proceed to switch off analogue services for digital in 2017.
 
Other key areas of discussion included: how to get digital radio in your phone, the aggregating data, exploiting sports rights using visual radio and more!
 
 

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