The Prospects for Digital Radio Policy and technology for a new broadcasting system

Lax, Stephen

doi:10.1080/1369118032000155276

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…By the first decade of this century, DAB had clearly begun to move through the hype cycle, away from the earliest expectation stage towards the disillusionment stage. Along with increased interest from academics in the development and implementation of DAB (see, for example, Lax 2003), it was Community Radio campaigners that were some of the first to really identify the limitations of DAB for smaller-scale broadcasters.…”

Section: Relevance To Smaller Radio Stationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making DAB Work: New Opportunities for Digital Radio in Europe

Hallett¹

2018

Edition Medienwissenschaft

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Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is now commonplace in a number of European jurisdictions. However, in the greater scheme of things, its success, when compared to early predictions, has been somewhat limited. Technologies it was intended to supplant (most notably analogue FM broadcasting) continue to thrive, whilst alternative platforms, such as the smartphone and connected speakers (e.g. Amazon's Alexa and Google Home) have recently gained rapid mass acceptance. In addition, new programme delivery methods (podcasting, and "listen again" services etc.) within the online environment, have emerged to further diversify the reception options available. Although such developments are, doubtless, complicating factors, this chapter suggests that it is not these that are primarily responsible for limiting DAB's wider international success to date. Rather, it is argued, the key issue is DAB's historic inability to provide an all-encompassing transmission platform, suitable for use across the entire broadcast radio sector. Bluntly put, DAB has not been seen as a comprehensive replacement technology. Unlike FM broadcasting before it, DAB has yet to prove itself capable of meeting the needs of all types of radio broadcaster, that is to say from the largest public service operators and commercial concerns, right through to the various smaller commercial and not-for-profit community radio service providers. A key difficulty with the technology has been its historical inability to deliver small-scale broadcast coverage on a cost-effective basis. In addition, such a lack of flexible scalability in terms of coverage has tended to be reinforced by DAB coverage planning approaches and spectrum occupancy plans that have, perhaps understandably, or even conveniently, assumed minimal use of the platform by such smaller operators.

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Section: Relevance To Smaller Radio Stationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making DAB Work: New Opportunities for Digital Radio in Europe

Hallett¹

2018

Edition Medienwissenschaft

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“…In that sense, multiplexing has changed the whole organisation of broadcasting services because it requires a very high degree of coordination amongst the actors involved. This technologically innovative (efficient) but socially conservative (restrictive) business model favours large public and commercial broadcasters (Ala-Fossi, 2010b) and there are indeed some examples of either entirely publicly-managed or commercially managed DAB multiplexes in the UK (Lax, 2003), but there are no such examples for community radio.…”

Section: Exclusion Of Community Radio Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital radio and market failure: a tale of two complementary platforms

Freyens

2012

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Purpose -In sharp contrast to television, various sources of market failure currently prevent market forces fulfilling the promise of digital switchover in radio markets. The purpose of this paper is to review the strengths and weaknesses, business models and market deployment of the two main platforms, with a view to establishing the economic case for higher regulatory involvement in digital radio markets.Design/methodology/approach -The paper analyses the relevant broadcaster, engineering and regulatory literature, with particular emphasis on technical compatibilities among terrestrial radio broadcast technologies, and the technological and economic difficulties they face. The exercise is the first of its kind to scope and bring together these multidisciplinary contributions.Findings -The highly uncoordinated development and deployment of terrestrial digital radio platforms is leading this new digital industry to an impasse. There is a legacy of uncertainty and scepticism amongst market players. Furthermore, prevailing technology and business models have marginalised community radio services and regional audiences.Research limitations/implications -The analysis does not cover the demand side (contents, culture) nor developments in non-terrestrial digital platforms, nor in the US-based IBOC standard.Practical implications -There is considerable scope, particularly in large, sparsely inhabited countries with sizeable rural audiences to remedy the failings of the current fragmented approach through regulatory intervention through platform integration.Originality/value -There is a lack of coherent information published on the potential benefits that the new digital platforms are bringing to the audio broadcasting market, and on the current market difficulties they face. The article remedies this gap.

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“…The industry long ago ceased to claim that DAB would deliver CD-quality sound (see for example Lax 2003) and now emphasizes freedom from interference and lack of hiss and crackle. Without embarking on the debate about whether, at the limit, FM sounds better than DAB or not (most people do not listen at the limit) it is generally agreed that there is little to choose between each when reception conditions are satisfactory.…”

Section: Technical Uncertaintiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital radio switchover: The UK experience

Lax

2011

International Journal of Digital Television

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The United Kingdom remains one of the world"s leading countries in the development of digital radio. However, it is unclear when radio will migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting in a similar way to television, which is progressively switching to digital transmission in a number of countries. When digital radio was first emerging, the industry, regulators and policymakers were broadly united in promoting digital radio as the natural successor to analogue. Yet other groups, such as small broadcasters and a number of consumer groups, expressed doubt that digital radio would, or should, replace analogue. The ensuing years have seen these doubts become more widely expressed, particularly as the United Kingdom"s roll-out of digital radio has not been emulated in other European countries, and a switchover in 2015, a deadline anticipated by the UK government, looks uncertain. This article examines the relationship between industry, policymakers and listeners in the process of developing digital radio as a potential analogue replacement. Keywords digital radioanalogue radio

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The Prospects for Digital Radio Policy and technology for a new broadcasting system

Cited by 15 publications

References 2 publications

Making DAB Work: New Opportunities for Digital Radio in Europe

Making DAB Work: New Opportunities for Digital Radio in Europe

Digital radio and market failure: a tale of two complementary platforms

Digital radio switchover: The UK experience

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