The imminent deployment of DAB+ requires powerful public stimuli

On this platform, David Fernández Quijada, co-founder and research director of South 180, exposes the possible public stimuli that administrations in Spain must offer to ensure the consolidation of DAB+ at the doors of the next National Technical Plan for Digital Radio.

He Government of Spain has just launched the prior public consultation on the new National Technical Plan for Digital Radio. This will be the plan that will address the deployment of digital terrestrial radio through the standard DAB+.

This step comes after a quarter of a century on a journey in the desert of digital terrestrial radio. While Norway FM already closed in 2017 to focus on DAB+ and the swiss private radios they will do it next year after advance public radio at the end of 2024, Spain is behind in terms of the deployment of this service in Europe.

Being in the caboose of Europe should allow learn the lessons that other countries have already gone through. Among others, the government must strategically use different public stimuli to align all the actors involved and accelerate the transition.

For some time now, however, they have begun to observe cycle change signs: the obligations of the European Electronic Communications Code have generated a park of more than 3.5 million DAB+ receivers in cars sold in the last four years. This has sparked interest among telecommunications operators that offer signal distribution in DAB+, generating an offer of stations without legal protection, notably in coastal areas. Added to this is the offer deployed by Radio Nacional de España since February 2024, which currently covers the 30% of the Spanish population.

However, there remains a long way to go. And being in the caboose of Europe should allow learn the lessons that other countries have already gone through. Among others, the government must strategically use different public stimuli to align all the actors involved and accelerate the transition.

In this context, I propose below some incentives that have worked in other European markets and that the administration could consider for the Spanish case.

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Financial incentives

Any transition must guarantee the profitability of commercial radio stations and ensure that competition does not increase. Radio markets tend to be oligopolistic, with a limited group of operators controlling the majority of advertising spending. Keep the the state in which of analogue operators on DAB+ has been a key incentive in Europe for private operators invest their resources in these new services.

Keep the the state in which of analogue operators on DAB+ has been a key incentive in Europe.

Likewise, the financial support granted to cover the costs of simultaneous broadcasts, which will be necessary for several years, has a positive influence on the willingness of radio stations to accept the transition. In some countries, the Government has assumed the coverage costs in road tunnels, since the new network is also used for the dissemination of emergency messages. In many cases, that would mean a tangible improvement regarding the current situation of the FM, whose signal is often lost in longer tunnels.

Likewise, the Government can alleviate the financial cost of the transition by other means. In Europe, it has been common for the administration to contribute to the co-financing of the necessary communication campaigns aimed at promoting the new technology. In other cases, it has funded market studies on the adoption of DAB+. In Spain, an obvious area of ​​indirect financial support would be the reduction in booking fees radio public domain.

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Transmission incentives

Any technological transition inevitably entails a reassignment of the listeners. Therefore, it is imperative that the approach to radio distribution be global. In Europe, this has often involved the shutdown of medium wave, a network that according to the most recent General Media Survey only listens to 384,000 people in Spain. We can assume that, in most cases, they have alternative reception methods.

Another incentive for operators in the sector is to ensure that only licensed operators use the spectrum reserved for DAB+, thus ending the current proliferation of allegative stations that multiply in DAB+ following the traditional impunity that they have had in FM.

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Reception incentives

In response to the requirement to renew listener reception equipment to tune DAB+, it is of utmost importance that radios mitigate any potential listener loss that may arise from this process.

Thus, the administration can offer various forms of support. In particular, ensure the position of new technology in vehicles, since they constitute a key place for radio reception. Within the framework of the review of the European Electronic Communications Code, the regulations could be expanded to include all vehicles - and not just those equipped with a radio, as at present - and expand its range to some of those that are not currently included, such as vans, trucks, quadricycles or agricultural vehicles.

It is imperative to request the legislator to grant priority in these devices to licensed radio stations, guaranteeing that listeners can access radio content without incurring additional costs.

Another incentive could be obligation to install digital radio tuners on other equipment, like traditional radio receivers, or at least some of these, for example the higher-end ones, thus avoiding the increase in the cost of cheaper receivers.

In any case, this measure should be reinforced with the prominence. Many of today's receivers, including smart speakers and car radios, offer a alternative range of audio services. In this sense, it is imperative to request the legislator to grant priority in these devices to licensed radio stations, guaranteeing that listeners can access radio content without incurring additional costs for users or radio operators.

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Incentives linked to licenses

Although it may seem contradictory, some countries have linked the renewal of analog licenses to the obligation to invest in the development of DAB+. Licenses are an extremely important asset for commercial radio stations; Without them, it is not possible to carry out commercial operations.

Greater guarantees of renewal of current and profitable analog licenses in exchange for investments in new ones digital licenses, which are not yet profitable, constitutes a relevant stimulus.

Offer greater guarantees of renewal of current and profitable analog licenses in exchange for investments in new ones digital licenses, which are not yet profitable, constitutes a relevant stimulus that allows broadcasters to commit to long-term investments, eliminating an obvious risk for their business.

Likewise, some countries have adopted measures to deregulation linked to investments in DAB+. These measures include relaxing concentration rules, reducing format and genre requirements, and reducing or eliminating local and regional production requirements.

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Incentives to guarantee the transition

In a context in which important investments for the deployment of DAB+ -in distribution but also in the creation of new content-, the ultimate objective of these public incentives should be to accelerate the transition, thus reducing associated costs.

The list of incentives presented in this forum is intended guide the debate about him launch and extension of DAB+ in which Spain must continue to deepen, guaranteeing that the transition to digital transmission conforms to the long-term market sustainability.

David Fernandez Quijada

Co-founder and Research Director of South 180.