Digital radio; one step forward, two steps back

Michael Hedges January 29, 2008

Being a digital radio supporter requires a certain strength of conviction. There’s no ambiguity about digital media’s future. Getting there is less certain.

Almost giddy was last week’s announcement from the DRMB, the UK’s digital radio support group, that Christmas receiver sales pushed total DAB households to 6.5 million. Shortly before the major consumer electronic sales holiday forecasters predicted flat screen TV or toasters would trump DAB receiver sales. No so: DAB radio moves ever so steadily forward in the UK.

UK broadcasters, BBC excepted, are continually challenged by DAB. There are bigger challenges for UK commercial broadcasters, ranging from a tepid ad market and agitated shareholders. GCap is said to be re-evaluating its substantial DAB investment. Oneword, the up-market talk channel developed by UBC and Channel 4, was unceremoniously dumped, as was GCap’s The Core and Virgin Radios’ Groove. Forward motion in receiver sales, however, is all forgiving.

But a dark cloud has fallen over digital radio broadcasting in Germany. It is a dark cloud filled with lightening and thunder or, in the words of IMDR, Germany’s digital radio support group, “chaos.”

The German agency that collects the radio and TV license tax, the KEF, also has a voice in how that money is distributed among and within the public broadcasters. Last week, the KEF decided to chop €140 million from ARD’s digital radio request, effectively reducing the budgets for DAB radio by 90%. ARD is the umbrella organization for many structural aspects of German public broadcasting and last year it had reached an agreement with private sector radio broadcasters to launch a full-court press on DAB development in late 2009.

The KEF statement mentioned that ARD’s DAB projects had, to date, “devoured” €180 million “without considerable result.” ARD had estimated the number of DAB receivers in Germany at less than 200,000. The KEF did, however, allow ARD to budget €42 million for DAB between 2009 and 2012. More than 500,000 DAB receivers were sold in the UK this past Christmas shopping season.

But even that allotment is highly conditional. KEF wants “concrete data on measuring the success of failure of the project.” Plus, it wants agreement with private broadcasters and receiver manufacturers.

Herbert Tillmann, head of German public broadcasting joint commission on production and technology, referred to the KEF’s recommendation as a “technological heap of broken glass.”

Skeptics make large the argument that less than 20% of all radio listening to DAB channels in the UK. And, obviously, UK DAB development is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the world. This week (Thursday January 31) new RAJAR audience figures will likely show more, if not spectacular, growth.

Analysts, critics and other grumpies expect new media success stories in endless (and ever louder) ‘Oh, Wow’ moments. This isn’t reality, where real listeners, viewers and broadcasters live. Reality is that digital broadcasting, in its many forms, will inevitably replace most analogue broadcasting. It’s like learning a language. It takes time.