BBC: No DAB switchover unless Govt involved

BBC
BBC Chief Operating Officer Caroline Thompson called for the Government to help it meet coverage targets for DAB

The BBC has called for the Government to get involved with extending DAB coverage as well as putting pressure on car manufacturers to put digital radios in their cars.

DAB switchover was targeted for 2015 in Lord Carter's recent Digital Britain report.

Talking at the Priorities for Digital Britain conference in Westminester, BBC Chief Operating Officer Caroline Thompson, said "we will not do the analogue switch off unless there are some very big thresholds met, especially [concerning] car radios. And those are challenging thresholds."

DAB coverage is around 90 per cent currently, but estimates hover around the £100 million mark to roll out digital to the final 10 per cent of the UK that doesn't yet have coverage.

"The final 10 per cent, we need to discuss with the Government," continued Thompson.

Andrew Harrison, chief executive of the Radio Centre, the commercial radio trade organisation, also spoke yesterday. He painted a bleak picture of the commercial radio industry, saying that 80 per cent of local radio stations are either loss making or break even and that it was hard for commercial stations to make money on DAB.

Harrision also criticised the huge amount of regulation increasing costs for local radio.

"We welcome the report for the policy it outlines," said Harrision. "But we need these reforms now, they're critical to the survival of radio [including the] deregulation of cross-media ownership. This is the last opportunity to carve out a long [and] profitable future for radio in our digital economy."

Later switchover will cost more

An important piece of the switchover puzzle is making sure car radios will support DAB and Ford and Vauxhall have committed to making this happen by 2013.

Thompson made the point that having both DAB and FM switched on will cost the BBC more and the corporation was keen to do what it can to switch over as soon as possible. "Switchover in 2020 costs us more than a switchover in 2015." The BBC's director of audio and music, Tim Davie, was recently quoted in Media Guardian as saying that switchover so soon is a challenge.

"At the moment you can only buy a DAB set for £50-plus. We are never going to get switchover by 2015 unless we really focus minds. I said on current trends it won't happen in our lifetime, and I meant it," said Davie, speaking at the Radio Festival in Nottingham at the end of June.

"2015 helps us make it a reality. Will we make that date? I think that's ambitious. A decent DAB radio has to cost £15, not £50."

Contributor

Dan (Twitter, Google+) is TechRadar's Former Deputy Editor and is now in charge at our sister site T3.com. Covering all things computing, internet and mobile he's a seasoned regular at major tech shows such as CES, IFA and Mobile World Congress. Dan has also been a tech expert for many outlets including BBC Radio 4, 5Live and the World Service, The Sun and ITV News.

Latest in Entertainment
A collage of a demasked Spider-Man, Captain Marvel staring into the camera, and Daredevil shouting
17 Marvel heroes I want to see added to the Avengers: Doomsday cast – Spider-Man, Ms Marvel, Wolverine, and more
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin Rennovations
Disney’s giving a classic Buzz Lightyear ride a tech overhaul – here's everything you need to know
Robert Downey Jr reveals himself as Doctor Doom to a delighted crowd at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
Marvel has revealed the full, 27-strong cast for Avengers: Doomsday, and there are plenty of heroes who seemingly won't be part of its roster
Robert Downey Jr sitting in a chair and holding a finger to his lips during Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal
'There is always room for more': Marvel drops big hint that it isn't done with its Avengers: Doomsday cast announcements
A collage of Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Tatiana Maslany's She-Hulk
Marvel fans are already tired of Doomsday and Secret Wars cast gossip as two more superheroes get linked with roles in the next two Avengers movies
Venezuela's forward #09 Jhonder Cadiz celebrates after scoring during the 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualifiers football match between Ecuador and Venezuela, at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in Quito, on March 21, 2025 ahead of Venezuela vs Peru
Venezuela vs Peru live stream: how to watch today's FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier anywhere online
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con up-close from app store
Nintendo's new app gave us another look at the Switch 2, and there's something different with the Joy-Con
cheap Nintendo Switch game deals sales
Nintendo didn't anticipate that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was 'going to be the juggernaut' for the Nintendo Switch when it was ported to the console, according to former employees
Three angles of the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 laptop above a desk
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) review roundup – should you buy Apple's new lightweight laptop?
Witchbrook
Witchbrook, the life-sim I've been waiting years for, finally has a release window and it's sooner than you think
Close up of Leica M11-P viewfinder
I wince at the prospect of the rumored Leica M11-V – here's why
Amazon Echo Smart Speaker
Amazon is experimenting with renaming Echo speakers to Alexa speakers, and it's about time