BBC radio chief Jenny Abramsky urges unity on DAB

The Guardian
28 April 2008

The BBC director of audio and music, Jenny Abramsky, has called on the
commercial sector to unite with the corporation to tackle the issues that
threaten the future of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio.

Abramsky said the BBC and its commercial rivals should work together on a
joint marketing push and a higher quality DAB signal.

Broadcasters should also create a single DAB electronic programme guide, she
said.

"If we are serious as an industry in making radio work in the digital world
then we have to collaborate," Abramsky told the Radio Reborn conference in
central London today.

The outgoing BBC radio chief warned that radio faced bigger threats today
than at any time in the past five decades. She said the long-term growth in
average radio listening per head had declined since 2004, down about 6%.

She said the biggest danger was "technological uncertainty, and this
particularly applies to DAB".

She described the BBC as "squarely behind DAB" but said there were issues
including coverage, affordability, quality of reception, the attractiveness
of digital radio receivers on the market, industry cohesiveness and
uncertainty over future technology.

"They are not easy barriers to overcome, but they are not insurmountable,"
she said.

The BBC's national DAB stations currently reach about 86% of the UK
population, or 60% of the country geographically. It has committed to build
its coverage but only to 90% of the population within five years.

Abramsky said the Digital Radio Working Group, which was set up by the
government to help push digital radio and includes representatives from the
BBC, commercial radio and Ofcom, should consider ways to dramatically speed
up growth of geographical coverage.

"The BBC, commercial radio and our transmission providers have no agreed
planning model for digital radio or common measurement for the UK," she
said.

"Instead of the three current methods that currently exist, I hope the DRWG,
under Barry Cox's leadership, agrees a single planning model and common
measurement and with a plan to fill in areas where DAB coverage has 'holes',
thereby providing the consistent reception that DAB is capable of
delivering."

She added: "I strongly believe DAB must remain at the heart of the UK
digital radio experience. The reason is simple: it is the only platform that
replicates some of radio's strongest features. It is both portable and easy
to use."

But she said the most important factor in radio's future was content.
"Without content there will be no future. Content is everything. Content is
what matters to audiences. Everything else, all the digital technology in
the world, comes down to convenience."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/28/bbc.digitaltvradio?gusrc=rss&feed=media


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