Radio in a new dimension

This article by Sebastian Kett (SWR) was first published in EBU tech-i, December 2012.

In Brief

Digital radio is not a technology it's an editorial product (i.e. the combination of digital audio with accompanying data services such as text, visuals and data).

Digital radio is available in 80% of Germany and for around 90% of the population.

At the moment more than 220 digital radio sets are available commercially in different price categories.

Find out more: www.digitalradio.de



More than a year ago German public and commercial broadcasters alike launched their digital radio services, marking the start of a new era of radio broadcasting. While in the early days of digital radio in Germany, the DAB story was all about better sound quality and technological advantages, today's digital radio story is all about the radio product itself and satisfying the listener's needs.

Satisfaction starts with variety which means: more radio stations are available. Besides the national digital radio multiplex with 13 radio services, ARD is broadcasting more than 60 well-known FM brands in its regional multiplexes and also offers content that is only available on digital radio. As local multiplexes are available in some areas as well, listeners can choose between up to forty radio stations at once. And in contrast to the early days, both commercial and public radio stations are fostering the development.

But it's not only quantity. Digital radio is much more than just a digital audio service. The core of radio is still live programming - but every audio service is accompanied by various additional data services. ARD's public broadcasters have been at the forefront and as a result of comprehensive media research published their digital radio product with a minimal set of data services. In Stage 1 this minimal set includes live text services such as current title/artist, electronic programme guides with additional information on the radio programmes and schedule data, pictures such as the CD cover/news headlines/traffic and weather charts, and the future mobility service TPEG.

Stage 2 of this content revolution will involve overcoming the old broadcasting principle of we're broadcasting you're listening . In that sense local interactivity has already been incorporated into the ordinary DAB slideshow. With Interactive Slideshow which was showcased in Berlin at Germany's largest trade show for consumer electronics (IFA) in December 2012 receivers cache transmitted slides in local memory so that listeners can interactively use already received visuals. ARD supports this enhancement and proposed the comprehensive provision of interactive slideshows for its digital radio services by mid-2013. Also ARD is working on further developments such as FileCollector, a.k.a. podcast via broadcast or latest news by one touch .

The long term goal in Stage 3 is full interactivity between the radio station and its listeners. Digital radio critics may argue that this is already a reality via internet radio. But in fact this is not the case. ARD strategically follows a hybrid approach and is, for example, heavily active in delivering the digital radio product via internet radio. But other than audio and title/artist information, the majority of ARD's minimal set services are currently not distributable via this bidirectional channel in a standardized way. And it doesn't look like things will change in the midterm. So the new generation of radio will still be limited to broadcast technologies for the next years.

That doesn't mean that internet is dispensable. But according to the long term goal German public broadcasters will endeavour to enhance broadcasting with internet technologies to improve the listener experience. For example, since IFA 2012, ARD has been publishing its slideshows and EPG-data for its digital radio brands using RadioDNS. RadioDNS allows receivers to combine additional data (delivered via internet) with audio services (delivered via broadcast). The media experience for the listener is the same as on pure digital radio; but providing identical content via different technologies gives more freedom to the device industry and can help to bring receiver prices down. A good example here is the new radio platform where a reasonable priced audio- and text-only device can be upgraded to a slideshow colour screen radio via a connected smart phone.

Finally it is the cooperation between broadcasters and industry which is one of the major achievements in this new radio era. Finding a common understanding between the needs and requirements of both sides of the chain has resulted in fancy as well as handy devices for much easier radio listening - more than 200 receivers in a wide range of functionality and price illustrate that. And as the network has expanded rapidly, digital radio is already available in 80% of Germany, covering around 90% of the population.

ARD will proceed with its involvement in digital radio development. The new generation of radio is on the rise.

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