Altra voce scettica, questa volta sul DAB, ma ancora dal mondo anglosassone e più precisamente dall’Irlanda. Dove anche il Digital Audio Broadcasting sembra essere al verde. L’Irish Times bacchetta la Broadcasting Commission of Ireland per una politica sul DAB che non tiene conto delle perplessità sulla sostenibilità economica della radio digitale. In Europa non rimangono molti fautori di una tecnologia che col passare del tempo si allontana dalla percezione comune, per restare nel ristretto ambito dei convegni e di pochi laboratori. E’ triste anche per chi non ci ha mai creduto fino in fondo.
Mixed signals on the future of digital radio stations
SIOBHÁN O’CONNELL
MEDIA & MARKETING: There are concerns about the economic viability of digital radio broadcasting
THE BROADCASTING Commission of Ireland (BCI) will shortly award three digital terrestrial television multiplex package licences, another step in the process to switch over from analogue to digital television by 2012.
Digital technology is also affecting the radio arena, though there is some concern that digital radio is more trouble than it’s worth.
The BCI is formulating a policy for the introduction of Digital Audio Broadcasting (Dab). It won’t mean the end of FM listening but, if and when it happens, Dab could result in a lot more niche radio stations.
Unlike television, which the EU has decreed must switch from analogue to digital by 2012, there is no deadline for the introduction of Dab. Dan Healy, chief executive of Wilton Radio, believes Dab could seriously damage the existing radio sector.
“Digital radio already exists on the internet and on satellite. There is no time pressure to introduce Dab. The BCI needs to seriously analyse whether Dab is the right digital platform for radio and whether it is economically viable,” he says.
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