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When The Infinite Dial’s P1 survey respondents aren’t listening to radio or online media, they’re listening to podcasts. But how often do they listen, and what types of podcasts do they listen to? The researchers searched for answers, and here’s what they found.

As with most of the other conclusions in the data, research suggests considerable differences in level of interest in podcasts among P1 listeners as a function of their preferred format. Listeners of alternative rock appear to be in the lead, with 81% claiming they listen to podcasts. At the midpoint are the 61% of classic rock listeners. The trailing edge is represented by classic hits with  a listenership of 38%.

[Read: Report Says Stations Struggle to Build Online Listenership]

The data for weekly listenership among P1 respondents does not track with those who claim to listen. While alternative rock’s P1 listeners continue to lead with 51%, the middle ground is held by R&B with 32%. Those who listen least on a weekly basis, according to the survey, are the contemporary Christian demographic, at just 17%.

Perhaps more interesting than how often the different P1 groups listen to podcasts, is what the survey suggests are their favorite topics. Not surprisingly, music is named by the survey among many respondents. Beyond that, responses vary considerably. Classic rock listeners name history, news/info and food as their top picks. Country’s P1 listeners picked true crime, wellness/self-improvement and music as their top three. Music, entertainment/celebrity gossip and food were favorites for hip-hop/rap listeners.

One of the biggest surprises in podcast data might be the results for P1 listeners in the sports and contemporary Christian groups. While they are on opposite ends of the spectrum in The Infinite Dial’s sex/age positioning nomograph, both groups have named sports, technology and history as the top topics for podcasts they listen to.

 

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New videos hosted by the DRM Consortium showcase new receiver models like this version from RF2Digital.

The DRM Consortium is inviting industry stakeholders to view a series of new video productions to get more information on the basic principles of DRM and benefits of to implementing this all-band digital radio system.

On the heels of its participation at the Virtual IBC event held earlier in September, the DRM Consortium created a series of videos that offer everything from basic information on DRM to more complex technical details. The videos offer details on addressing transmission issues over large disparate geographic areas, how to provide adequate disaster warning transmissions with DRM and how to improve local radio services to geographically disparate communities with less power — including how to provide three different radio broadcasts from a signal transmitter.

[Read: DRM Advanced Radio for All]

“Content can be richer, more varied and in the regional languages or dialects [of those areas],” according to the introductory video. “More content in more languages on flexible DRM for all.”

Additional benefits for DRM — or Digital Radio Mondiale — include the delivery of data along with the audio broadcasts. In the video “From Broadcaster to the Listener,” the narrator gives viewers a look at what opportunities DRM can provide to an imaginary country, one with large cities with millions of people, smaller township areas as well as vast forest region that divides a country in two and causes significant geographical broadcast challenges to traditional radio broadcasts.

 

 

Using DRM gives this fictional nation the opportunity to reach more of its citizens with clear, crisp audio as well as connect with them via video/data images. DRM radios have a screen and can provide consumers with text, pictures, maps, math lessons, live sports results, emergency warnings and other educational information, creating an “opportunity for digital radio station managers to use this data channel to create a new revenue stream,” the video says. “Visible adverts can be broadcast alongside traditional audio advertising. DRM is flexible, green and delivers universal access to information so the whole country can be connected.”

Philipp Schmid, CTO of Nautel, a maker of DRM transmitters, explains in another video how six independent DRM signals can be emitted from a single Nautel GV family transmitter, in effect combining signals to be broadcast from a single amplifier, a single antenna and a single location.

“In this way we can of course get a lot more data capacity for our transmitter but we can also use white space that was unable to be allocated in analog FM,” he said. An analog FM channel would have prevented the other adjacent channels to be utilized, he said. But in digital transmission we can make sure that all of these modulated signals are emitted at the same time. “By doing so, we can eliminate interchannel interference and in this way a receiver can pick up its own independent sideband and all the audio services on it.”

The technology may revolution digital radio broadcasting, Schmid said. “It allows us to pack more signals into a smaller frequency spectrum, enabling more broadcast transmission, more radio stations, more services [and] better utilize our spectrum that is available for radio broadcasting,” he said.

Another video demonstrates how DRM is able to deliver distance learning material over large, remote geographic areas where IP is not available.

New DRM receiver options — including standalone models, DRM-capable smartphone receivers and automotive models — have been released from companies like Avion Electronics, Gospell, Inntot, Starwaves and RF2Digital.

 

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Lawo released a statement on the death of Michael Mueller. He passed away surrounded by loved ones on Sept. 26 after a brief, but severe illness.

The company said, “We mourn the premature passing of our colleague, team member and friend Michael Mueller, 66; a truly unique colleague, with whom we at Lawo had the pleasure to work together for more than a decade. … Known for his witty sense of humor and kind-hearted personality, we will remember Michael as a key member of the global sales organization, skilled bass player in the Lawo band, a renowned face of the audio industry as a whole and a true gentleman and friend. He will be missed. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, family and friends at this difficult time.

[Read: Brazil’s Rádio Itatiaia Has New Lawo System]

Mueller brought a wealth of experience to his positions as U.S. sales and marketing manager in 2008, and later as vice president of sales, with Lawo North America. He was responsible for the further development of the Lawo brand identity throughout the United States and was also charged with increasing sales of the company’s numerous products.

Prior to joining Lawo North America, Mueller was vice-president, sales and marketing for MediaGear Inc. He also held positions with Audio Techniques, Scharff Weisberg Associates, Siemens Audio Inc./AMS-Neve Inc., Solid State Logic and Fairlight USA.

 

The post Lawo’s Michael Mueller Passes Away at 66 appeared first on Radio World.

A technical session in the upcoming virtual Radio Show will focus on a topic of growing importance to U.S. broadcasters: hybrid radio.

As Radio World readers know, the term refers to in-car radio radios that can receive analog AM/FM or HD Radio over the air but also connect to the wireless internet to download station graphics, song information and station identifications.

Hybrid radios also support interactivity between the listener and the station. And they can switch seamlessly from a station’s broadcast signal to its audio stream whenever the vehicle drives out of the station’s broadcast coverage area.

RadioDNS has updated its standard to add geo-fencing to prevent access to specific platforms based on physical location. Among other benefits, this would allow a station to define its FM coverage area and “deny” access to streaming within that area in favor of the OTA signal.

For radio broadcasters concerned about losing in-car listeners to non-radio streaming services, advocates say hybrid radio is a timely solution that marries broadcast radio’s strengths — free service, localism and wide coverage — with the power of streaming audio including global reach, rich multimedia content and interactivity.

The technology has been talked about at spring and fall broadcast conventions for years but is taking on more urgency as hybrid radio-equipped vehicles start appearing in the United States, and as AM and FM broadcasters watch SiriusXM roll out its own enhanced 360L platform, which includes personalization and on-demand features.

Benefits

The session “How Radio Broadcasters Can Support RadioDNS” will be presented on Monday Oct. 5 by Nick Piggott, project director of RadioDNS. It’s a not-for-profit membership organization that is promoting the adoption and deployment of hybrid radio globally using open standards.

David Layer, NAB’s vice president of advanced engineering, will moderate.

On one level, the presentation will bring session participants up to speed on hybrid radio’s progress.

“We’ll be talking about hybrid radio’s capabilities and what it can do for radio stations as we’re starting to see more hybrid radio-capable devices proliferate, particularly in cars,” said Skip Pizzi, NAB’s vice president of technology education and outreach.

Piggott also will explain how radio managers can move into this medium through their own efforts or by hiring a third-party contractor.

This Audi receiver shows the availability of a streamed version at right; note the small box “Web.”

“We’ll provide a simple step-by-step guide under the headline, ‘So you’ve decided you’d like to do hybrid radio,’” said Piggott.

“It will be reasonably but not impenetrably technical, so that somebody who has a basic understanding of technology within their radio station or radio group can walk away thinking, ‘I know how we’re going to do hybrid radio. I can see how we’re going to do this.’”

The session will include a discussion of the issue of restricting in-car streaming within a station’s main coverage area, so that broadcasters do not find themselves paying higher streaming music royalties for content that can be heard easily over the air. This is a software-configurable restriction based on constantly comparing the vehicle’s GPS location to the station’s core coverage area.

Tools for Broadcasters

As an open-standards advocacy group, RadioDNS exists to help stations understand and implement hybrid radio solutions.

The Technical Section of its website (https://radiodns.org/technical/) offers a range of downloadable “How To” documents detailing each stage of implementing RadioDNS hybrid radio, from creating station logos and other metadata to station registration, implementing high-definition visuals and setting program listening restrictions by time of day or to a specific program.

The website’s technical section includes a number of presentations on managing RadioDNS hybrid radio applications and support for stations doing this on their own.

By digging into the nuts-and-bolts of hybrid radio in a plainspoken manner, Piggott hopes to make the concept accessible to radio engineers and non-engineers alike. This is why he, NAB and RAB are putting this discussion forward.

“My goal is to demystify the technology and encourage broadcasters not to be apprehensive about trying it,” Piggott said. “That’s the headline: Taking the Fear Out of Hybrid Radio Through RadioDNS, So That Broadcasters Can Do It Themselves.”

For a deeper discussion, see the recent Radio World story “Hybrid Radio Picks Up Momentum” at https://tinyurl.com/rw-hybrid-2.

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Sarah Foss has joined Entercom as chief information officer.

Foss will “provide strategic direction and oversight for the design, development, acquisition, operation and support of the company’s enterprise technology systems and programs.”

Veteran Radio World readers may recall Foss from her tenures at Harris Corp. and Imagine Communications. More recently she was senior VP of strategic initiatives for FreeWheel Advertisers. She has also held management or executive positions at Yangaroo, Encompass Digital Media and VCI Solutions.

[Read: Codecs Offer Redundancy, Backup and Failover]

She is a co-founder of Tech Bae, a tech-focused organization for women in the media and advertising ecosystem.

Richard Schmaeling, EVP/CFO of Entercom, praised Foss for “her strong business acumen and enriched media technology intellect.” At Entercom her job also will include helping apply digital, data and analytic tools.

Send People News to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

The post Sarah Foss Is New Entercom CIO appeared first on Radio World.

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MB enters into consent decree with Rocket Radio Corporation

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The author is chairman of Digital Radio Mondiale. Her commentaries appear regularly in Radio World.

The recent DRM virtual showcase proved to be a real box of delights and new announcements demonstrating that the digital radio industry remains resilient and innovative even in pandemic times. “The best DRM IBC show with the lowest carbon footprint and best attendance” was one of the many feedbacks received. And there were lots of things to excite the over 100 participants from literally all over the world.

The highlights were grouped around some big themes like DRM in practice, extensively proven and used in the FM band; DRM and its possible major role in delivering educational content to large and remote areas in times when many students cannot attend face-to-face lessons; use of DRM in public signage which can be applied for both education, health and emergency announcements; a new and “live” way of monitoring on-air transmissions, which can be beneficial to both the engineers and the editorial staff of broadcasters.

[Read: Can Digital Radio Standards Coexist?]

While the all-band, open DRM standard is stable and well-established, technical improvements can always be implemented like the recent updating of the DRM system specification ETSI ES 201 980. Three improvements were announced by the DRM Technical Chair (BBC) and are to do with removal of some obsolete or unused modulation features and enhanced signaling when using emergency warnings. The changes, which are backwards-compatible, will make DRM’s implementation in chipsets and receivers more reliable, and add additional support for receiver text displays to be able to also support different scripts from around the world. We now know that the publication of the new ETSI version is expected early in 2021.

Around that time a DRM medium-wave pilot to be run by the BBC for the Middle East is also expected to start, as out of the 468 million people tuning to the BBC worldwide, we were told by the BBC representative that a quarter are still doing so on AM. And shortwave, a bit of a blast from the past for some, is not forgotten in places like Russia, China, and many other countries, as the demand for SW digital transmitters is quite healthy. As mentioned by the Ampegon representative the demand is mainly now for bigger capacity transmitters, above 25 kW going to 50 kW, able to cover wide areas with good analog and digital sound and delivering big energy savings. In its new factory Ampegon is working on satisfying these demands.

Improvements were also announced at the level of professional monitoring all these transmissions. So RFmondial announced the upgraded HTML5 GUI in its DRM/AM Monitoring and Measurement Receiver Family RF-SE and the possible software update of older versions. A new exciter version was also unveiled by the German company. Their German colleagues at Fraunhofer IIS also completed the picture with end-to-end implementations offering solutions (content server and multimedia player, data services like Journaline and Emergency Warning Functionality), services for supporting DRM field trials and rollout, as well as  unique expertise.

But the DRM Showcase was not all about better hardware. It was also about technical innovation. And the one that elicited most of the questions was the extended DRM multiplex for FM, an idea that benefited from the input of Nautel and RFmondial engineers. This solution allows one analog FM transmission (200 kHz) and four DRM channels (two in each of the 200 kHz guard spaces as a DRM channel only occupies 100 kHz). Or if the whole 600 kHz are used in pure DRM then up to six DRM channels (each service with up to three audio and one data services) can be offered from the same transmitter, same antenna with possible sharing of costs among several broadcasters. The individual broadcasters remain in control of their transmissions without the involvement of third-parties.

As usual, participants were also interested in what is happening in the various countries about implementing DRM. While India remains the top DRM country (alongside China), the adoption of DRM in all bands by Pakistan and its public broadcaster (PBC) was one of the big surprises of the showcase. The comprehensive three-phase costed plan to introduce DRM in FM, and medium-wave, first, in all the key areas of the country has been endorsed and praised since the “DRM—Advanced Radio for All” by top Pakistani officials.

Indonesia and its public radio (RRI) representative also presented its five FM transmitters which went on air over the last few months and the excellent results of the Emergency Warning Functionality demonstrated on a DRM FM transmitter in Jakarta in August. The recent tender for digital DRM transmitters in SW, MW and FM in Brazil was welcome news and the expectation is now that a locally produced SW DRM transmitter will be soon transmitting from the key public broadcaster central site.

Africa always gets a mention though South Africa has really scored a first with its policy announced two months ago that it recommends both DRM and DAB as a way to digitize radio in the country; a true torch-bearer for other African countries so reliant on AM and FM radio.

Over 2.5 million of cars with DRM receivers are placing India in a class of its own. Receivers are fitted at no cost in cars from the top brands. Work is continuing to increase pure DRM hours for five All India Radio (AIR) transmitters to full day and diversify content. Possibilities are being explored to have an educational channel and invite also some private broadcasters to use the extra channels available through DRM on AIR transmitters. Six more medium-wave transmitters are to be added to the existing 35 MW DRM transmitters. One of these new batch of DRM transmitters using all the extra DRM features will be launched officially in Hyderabad very soon. The increase of the DRM presence and the general technical effort being made will stimulate the receiver production and availability.

And a good part of the DRM event was devoted to the development of receiver and receiver solutions. One trend we noticed was the extension of DRM reception to FM so that it can cover analog and AM as well as FM broadcasts. Most of the receiver manufacturers proudly announced the availability of attractive features like support for xHE-AAC codec, Journaline, Emergency Warnings. The receivers introduced in excellent videos like that of Avion (India) came in all shapes and forms; from the rich variety of Gospell (China) and its GR series and DRM car stereo, to the Indian multifunctional receivers and SDR-based solutions of Inntot (India). RF2 digital (Korea/Germany) also came up with an SDR receiver solution for analog and all DRM bands, being also a multistandard device. Cambridge Consultants (U.K.) is working on a very low-energy and low-cost solution. The same idea was embraced by Starwaves (Germany/Switzerland) which presented a “tuk-tuk” radio (stripped down but very functional). It also announced the world premiere of Starwaves W293BT receiver, available now upon orders.

So, DRM is making great strides technically, geographically and in coming up with ingenious receiver solutions. To encourage as many digital radio practitioners, stakeholders and decisionmakers to embrace and implement digital radio, DRM, the consortium launched on Sept. 9 its own new video, “DRM — From Broadcaster to Listener.”

 

The post DRM Advanced Radio for All appeared first on Radio World.

APT IP codec promo image

WorldCast Systems has a new offering that it says will give FM broadcasters access to high-quality signal compression for FM MPX/Composite transmission.

“APTmpX is the world’s first and only MPX/composite algorithm to save network bandwidth without deconstructing the original composite signal,” it states in a release.

WorldCast described it as “a new compression format to transmit your high-quality composed signal at even lower bit rates, under 1 Mbps.”

It is available in MPX/composite-compatible APT IP codecs.

The manufacturer said advancements in recent years have eliminated much of the equipment once required to generate an MPX/composite signal. More recently, a single central processor assures consistent audio signature across a transmitter network.

WorldCast Systems graphic

“However, before APTmpX, there remained one challenge: how to manage the relatively high IP data rate of a composite signal without affecting the MPX/composite transmission,” the company wrote.

“APTmpX not only enhances our portfolio for MPX solutions, but also marks a milestone in the transition to an MPX/composite environment,” said APT Product Manager Hartmut Foerster in the announcement.

He said users benefit from lower hardware and distribution costs.

 

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For most AM/FM stations, getting listeners to utilize their online stream remains a challenge, according to The Infinite Dial’s report. When asked whether they listened to online audio in the past week, responses ranged from a high of 82% for sports listeners, to a low 39% for those who regularly tune in classic hits.

[Read: Is the Smart Speaker Like a New Age Home Radio?]

 When those same listeners were asked how often they listened to AM/FM radio online, the percentages drop significantly. The report stated that sports listeners still lead, but with 45%. Next comes R&B with 28%, while news/talk, alternative rock and hard rock/heavy metal are in a three-way tie for third with 26%. Bringing up the rear is classic hits with 11%. This disparity is a bit of a mystery, and no explanations are offered in The Infinite Dial’s report.

In some instances, there is a difference in the number of commercials aired on radio and online media, and The Infinite Dial’s report sought to determine how important hearing few/no commercials is to choosing online audio. Leading the pack, according to the report, are hard rock/heavy metal listeners, of whom 64% said few/no commercials was the only reason for listening to music online. 23% of this group said it was not a reason for choosing online audio.

Almost evenly divided on the matter are hip-hop/rap listeners, where the survey showed that 39% say no commercials are the only reason to listen to online audio, 38% say it’s not a factor in online listening, and 23% say it’s an important reason, but not the only one. At the other end of the spectrum are contemporary Christian listeners, where the report says 38% find few/no commercials a reason to tune in online, and 56% say it is not a reason.

AM/FM radio has traditionally been considered a top source for music discovery. According to this research, it still is, but it now shares the lead with YouTube and friends/family. The research also suggests that YouTube is the wild card, as its adoption defies the expected radio format and age boundaries. Trailing behind as a source for music discovery in most categories are Spotify, SiriusXM and Pandora.

 

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Greg Ashlock calls iHeartMedia’s newest offering a “product-driven network.”

The president of iHeartMedia Markets Group was talking about the iHeartSports Network that launched today.

“People are passionate about sports and this will deliver the timely regional and local coverage they care most about along with the biggest national stories,” Ashlock said in the announcement.

The network — also referred to as IHSN in the press release — will provide content to some 500 stations and their digital streams.

Almost exactly a year ago, the company launched an iHeartRadio Sports website.

“IHSN will deliver short-form national, regional local sports reports to listeners on formats that index high against sports interest, including rock, country, hip hop, class hits, news, talk and sports,” the company said.

Talent to be heard on the network include Cris Collinsworth, Colin Cowherd, Dan Patrick and Joy Taylor.

The company cited research from Scarborough that 83 percent of sports fans want a daily update, and from Nielsen that 89 percent of sports fans listen to radio each week.

“Research also indicates that almost two-thirds of sports fans do not have the time to seek out additional desired information.”

The post iHeart Launches Sports Network appeared first on Radio World.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with the Uniform License Renewal, Discontinuance of Operation, and Geographic Partitioning and Spectrum Disaggregation Rules and Policies for Certain Wireless Radio Services Second Report and Order and the Report and Order on the Commission's Rules to Facilitate the Use of Vehicular Repeater Units. This document is consistent with the Second Report and Order, Report and Order, all of which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the information collection requirements.

In this Report and Order, the Commission repeals two rules regarding access to FM and TV broadcast antenna sites. These rules prohibit the grant or renewal of an FM or TV broadcast license to any person who owns, leases, or controls a particular site which is peculiarly suitable for such broadcasting in a particular area, if: The site is not available for use by other such licensees, no other comparable site is available in the area, and the exclusive use of the site would unduly limit the number of such stations that can be licensed or unduly restrict competition among those stations. After review of the record, the Commission concludes that these rules no longer serve any practical purpose in light of the significant broadcast infrastructure development since the rules were first adopted 75 years ago. Therefore, the Commission determines that it is in the public interest to eliminate them.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with the Uniform License Renewal, Discontinuance of Operation, and Geographic Partitioning and Spectrum Disaggregation Rules and Policies for Certain Wireless Radio Services Second Report and Order and the Report and Order on the Commission's Rules to Facilitate the Use of Vehicular Repeater Units. This document is consistent with the Second Report and Order, Report and Order, all of which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the information collection requirements.

Microphone hygiene and IP at the BBC are among the topics on the agenda for the Broadcast and Online Delivery track of the upcoming AES Show, which will be held virtually.

There’s also a healthy dollop of radio history, appropriate in this centennial year for radio.

Show planners released these highlights:

“Practical Tips for Using Digital Audio in a 2110 Facility” will explore IP architecture and the SMPTE ST 2110 media networking protocol, of which the Audio Engineering Society’s AES3 and AES67 standards are components. Moderator Andy Butler of PBS will host Wesley D. Simpson (telecom product consultant), Robert Welch (technical solutions lead, Arista Networks) and Peter Wharton (principal consultant, Happy Robot Inc.).

“Pass the Mic” will celebrate the 100th anniversary of radio broadcasting and its innovations with host veteran radio engineer John Holt.

[For News on Other Shows See Our Show News Page]

“A Century of Radio: What You May Not Know About the History of Broadcasting” features Donna Halper of Lesley University and Barry Mishkind of Broadcasters’ Desktop Resource sharing “surprising facts about broadcast history” and dispelling some cherished myths.

“Stay Safe: Disinfecting Microphones in the time of COVID-19” is presented by David Prentice.

“Podcasts: Telling Stories with Sound” has Rob Byers of American Public Media hosting designers/composers Jim Briggs and Fernando Arruda of Revel as well as podcast series reporter/producers Laura Starecheski and Ike Sriskandarajah.

The AES Show usually includes facility tours; this year there are two: “A Virtual Tour and Discussion: BBC Broadcasting House Studio,” led by Jamie Laundon, and “A Virtual Tour and Discussion: BBC Wales — Cardiff Central Square IP-based Broadcast Facility,” with Adrian Wisbey.

The Broadcast and Online Delivery Track has been led David Bialik for 36 years.

Show info is at AESShow.com. Full all-access registration starts at $149. Free AES Show 2020 Showcase registration is free before October 1.

 

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The L’essentiel Radio Transmission Tower

These photos provided by Broadcasting Center Europe are from its project to install a new transmitter for L’essentiel Radio, adding a signal at 103.4 MHz for the French-language service in Luxembourg.

BCE is a European provider of media services, integration and software. The installation is in the small town of Blaschette in central Luxembourg.

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

“Since 2016, BCE has supported the French-speaking radio station with the integration of its studios, transmitters and antennas,” the company announced. “L’essentiel Radio has increased its country coverage with the launch of new frequencies in Rambrouch, Junglinster, Ettelbruck and Remich.”

The national radio service is now available on seven FM frequencies.

Eugène Muller is head of transmissions at BCE. Emmanuel Fleig is manager at L’essentiel Radio.

L’essentiel Radio is also planning tests of the DAB+ platform.

Send news of radio broadcast projects (studios, RF, TOCs/NOCs, etc.) to radioworld@futurenet.com.

 

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