Radio is as glamorous as Television

On this last day of the 2016 Digital Broadcasting Symposium, accomplished broadcasters participated in the Industry Debate Panel on the theme, “Digital Radio for the Future”. The session was chaired by Lindsay Cornell from BBC and who is also WorldDAB Technical Chair.

The debaters were Simon Fell from EBU, Dato Haji Abu Bakar Ab Rahim, Director-General of RTM-Malaysia, Kathryn Brown-CRA Australia, Azlina Yusof-MCMC Malaysia, Mazakazu Iwaki-NHK Japan, Sunarya Ruslan-RRI Indonesia and Alexander Zink-Fraunhofer Germany.

It is argued that the shift to Digital TV is more popular than that for digital radio because FM radio has not got the same drive as television and there was no pressing demand by regulators. However, all the speakers agree that digital radio is today giving more choice and more channels to listeners and low investments are required by broadcasters. Digital Radio is becoming more and more popular and is perceived today as glamorous as television.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will facilitate the move to digital radio shortly since they are receiving applications especially for remote areas. RTM-Malaysia welcomes the plan set up by the Malaysian regulator. In Indonesia, the challenge is to provide digital radio services on scattered islands. NHK-Japan will shift to digital very soon.

Discussions also focused on digital radio in cars, on mobile phones and through DVB T2.