A joint press release from ADAC, ARD, APR, Deutschlandradio, MEDIA BROADCAST, VDA and ZVEI:
"The Future of Radio is Digital!"
Frankfurt am Main, June 22, 2009. In light of pending decisions concerning the implementation of the digital-terrestrial radio (DAB plus) the ADAC, ARD, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Privater Rundfunk (APR), Deutschlandradio, the network operator MEDIA BROADCAST as well as the industrial associations VDA and ZVEI declare in a joint press release that they are on course for a digitalization of the terrestrial radio "DAB plus".
The seven organizations represent the network, terminal equipment and program providers as well as 17 million automobile radio listeners. They thereby emphasize that they see no immediate alternatives in the radio market to the gradual conversion of terrestrial analogue to digital radio.
Only with the planned implementation of the digital radio (DAB plus) will it be possible to keep up with the fast-pace development of the information and entertainment needs of the listeners, including those in a mobile setting. The younger generation of stationary and automobile radio listeners is accustomed to multimedia oriented media and expects more from the medium of radio than the current VHF radio can offer.
Forgoing the digitalization of terrestrial transmission and its concomitant program variety will lead into a radio policy dead-end and is not an alternative for the automobile drivers. Radio would thereby lose a large share of their automobile listeners in the medium term, which can benefit neither the public nor the commercial programme providers.
Aside from that, the German media landscape would drift away from the current European development and embark alone on an ill-fated course, because with the expansion plans in Great Britain, the legal basis in place in France as well as the DAB activities in Denmark, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland, the decision to make the DAB system family the transmission technology for radio in Europe has already been made.
VDA and ADAC emphasize that as one of the largest groups of radio users the implementation of the digital radio (DAB plus) is indispensable for automobile drivers. Only with digital radio can the current capacity limit on the transmission of traffic information be overcome so that the automobile driver can be guaranteed an optimal and expanded source of updates and traffic information.
Other transmission technologies do not appear to be acceptable alternatives for the automobile drivers in the near future. For that reason the automobile industry made a clear decision years ago in favour of the technical solution of digital terrestrial radio as the transmission medium of the future and allocated the corresponding high level of development funds for it. Manufacturers and outfitters are at the starting line and the market will not tolerate further delay. A decision against digital radio and alternative distribution paths like internet radio would create a situation in which the especially important target group of automobile drivers would be out of range for both entertainment offers and traffic condition announcements. We are obligated - also from an economic standpoint - to do everything to avoid unnecessary costs incurred by traffic jams.
Against this backdrop the seven organizations will stay the course for the implementation of digital radio. The economic challenges in setting up the infrastructure can be met if many partners take on an active role. In that sense the above named organizations say in unison: "The future of radios is digital!"
