ASIA

Pakistan’s caretaker Minister of Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi addressed a meetinbon Radio Resource Control and Management at IBC, Amsterdam via Zoom on Saturday and said that Radio Pakistan is moving towards Digital Radio Mondiale Technology to bring its broadcast at par with the international standards.He said Radio Pakistan will be accessible throughout the country and neighbouring countries after installation of the DRM transmitter and its operational cost would be reduced by forty percent besides saving energy costs.He also highlighted the emergency warning feature of DRM transmitters, which is capable of issuing immediate alerts during natural disasters. The initiative would also facilitate disaster management authorities in carrying out relief efforts in affected areas.

Solangi also thanked DRM consortium, especially Chairperson Ruxandra Obreja, for their cooperation in installation of DRM Technology in Pakistan.He expressed hope that continued collaboration between the DRM Consortium, Radio Pakistan’s management and engineers would lead to a successful digital rollout in the near future and a new era will be added to Radio Pakistan’s 76-year-long journey.He also felicitated the Director General Radio Pakistan and DRM Steering Committee for their unwavering passion, hard work and dedication. […]

Key Chinese authorities have made an announcement to encourage the adoption of DRM for AM domestically and to get provincial transmission stations to broadcast DRM services.The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) recommend the further strengthening of in-vehicle audio and video radio broadcast reception, as an essential component of the country’s basic public services.DRM is seen as a vital part of the infrastructure needed so that the authorities can rapidly and effectively reach the Chinese public with emergency alerts. This can be enabled through DRM’s Emergency Warning Functionality EWF. Therefore, NRTA and MIIT stress the need for the popularisation of “radio broadcasting receiving terminals”. They also promote the inclusion of radio receivers in all domestically produced and imported vehicles to be sold on the domestic market.

The Chinese authorities also express the intention to accelerate the construction of digital radio broadcasting coverage networks with digital AM broadcasting (DRM) transmission systems at local transmission stations.The aim is to finally build an advanced, fast-transmitting, and reliable digital radio broadcasting coverage network, able to improve the transmission quantity and signal quality of public service programmes available to the listeners. The process of transition from analogue to digital will be gradual and planned in stages.This news was announced during the DRM IBC Showcase event in Amsterdam. DRM is the only global, open and ITU endorsed digital radio standard to serve all coverage needs for the national and local public radio stations as well as for commercial and community broadcasters. […]

The Digital Radio Mondiale™ (DRM) Consortium welcomes the announcement by Indonesian authorities to adopt the global, open and ITU endorsed DRM Digital Radio Standard for national adoption in a country of over a quarter of a billion people.This news was announced during the DRM IBC Showcase event in Amsterdam. DRM is the only digital radio standard to serve all coverage needs for the national and local public radio stations as well as for commercial and community broadcasters. Going forward, DRM-based digital radio services can be introduced in the medium wave (MW) and FM bands, as well as in VHF band-III, for all of Indonesia’s 18 000 islands.275 million Indonesians can soon enjoy a whole new radio experience with better audio quality and more choice, Journaline text news and, above all, an extra level of protection against disasters through DRM’s Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF). The introduction of modern digital radio services will stimulate the entire radio ecosystem and broadcast industry, and it will energize the Indonesian as well as global receiver manufacturing.

The DRM Consortium is looking forward to further working closely with the Indonesian broadcasters and stakeholder groups, the governmental agencies, as well as the receiver, automotive and mobile phone industry in Indonesia to ensure a successful roll-out of DRM digital radio services throughout the country for the benefit of the entire Indonesian population. […]

CML Microcircuits (CML Micro) has announced at the IBC 2023 DRM Showcase Event, the full release of the world’s lowest-cost, lowest power, and smallest sized Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) broadcast receiver module (DRM1000). DRM is the world’s leading digitalradio broadcast standard able to provide rich, high quality digital content over vast areas using medium-wave (MW) and short-wave (SW). In addition to high-capacity local broadcasting at Very High Frequencies (VHF).The DRM1000 is a complete ‘antenna to speaker’ module, containing all hardware, software, IP and patent licenses required for a radio equipment manufacturer to easily realize a dual mode (digital and analogue) DRM capable receiver.The module offers a 60% cost reduction and 80% power reduction over existing DRM technologies in the market. The device can run effectively from solar or wind-up rechargeable batteries: in addition to small primary cells. Low power operation directly improves accessibility to vital educational and public digital radio services across many emerging nations and opens the great features of DRM to many millions of potential listeners around the world.

In offering the DRM1000, CML Micro wish to enable their customers to design a complete DRM /AM /FM broadcast receiver solution, which is attractive, highly featured and accessible for all. The module allows these innovative receivers to be manufactured locallyin emerging nations in addition to traditional technology manufacturing locations.In addition to announcing the availability of the DRM1000; CML Micro is also proud to announce that the device has been adopted by Gospell Digital Technology Ltd for two new DRM portable radio families to be shown for the first time at the IBC 2023 DRM ShowcaseEvent.Haochun Liu, Head of Research and Development at Gospell, said: “At Gospell, we’ve always held a steadfast belief in the pivotal role that the accessibility and ubiquity of DRM radios play in enabling people to access high-quality information. This unwavering commitmenthas driven us over the years to design and manufacture user friendly DRM receivers, constantly pushing the boundaries to make them more accessible and attainable for all. The introduction of the DRM1000 module, with its impressive low-power consumption, costeffectiveness, and high performance, has been a game-changer. We are truly honored to collaborate with CML Micro in launching two groundbreaking DRM receivers based on the DRM1000 module, namely the GR-220 and GR-221. We’re confident that our combined efforts will not only deliver unparalleled value to people but also pave the way for the next chapter in DRM technology.”One third of the world’s population remains without an internet connection. Many millions of people will benefit from widespread DRM adoption. Increasing access to DRM enhances public services in remote areas, or where an internet connection is very expensive. Thisincludes a disaster and early warning service that can be used in the event of interruption to communications caused by natural disasters.CML Micro’s VP of Global Marketing, Matthew Phillips, said: “The benefits of DRM are already being enjoyed by listeners in the Indian market with 70% of the population covered by DRM broadcast services and 6 million new cars already fitted with DRM capablereceivers. We believe the market for DRM capable receivers is set for significant growth over the coming years. The DRM1000 provides an ideal platform to serve this emerging market with low cost, battery-powered portable receivers sold in millions of units.”

DRM in the medium-wave or short-wave band delivers FM-like quality to listeners spread over many thousands of square miles, from a single transmitter. This makes DRM the optimum digital radio solution for emerging nations. DRM uses existing long-, medium-,short-wave and very-high frequency (LW, MW, SW and VHF) radio frequency bands, operating seamlessly alongside current analogue services. […]

“We are over the moon in my country at the moment. It’s boom, time, but where is the money for radio?” asked Abe Thomas at Radiodays Asia.With India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft recently completing a successful landing on the Moon’s south pole, the country is on a high as it joins the space race. Big FM’s CEO Abe Thomas wants to see India’s radio and audio industries capitalising more on the buoyant mood in his country.“Radio revenue is growing but is not maintaining its relative share in competition with other media. We need to win today’s race, while also running tomorrow’s race.”

Attention is the new currency, according to Thomas.“Brands want to be at the centre of consumer engagement. Brands want to sit in the intersection of content, community and commerce.”With this in mind his network is “maintaining our revenue core, but also expanding to other revenue sources.” He is building up revenue from podcasts and other audio offerings while still focusing on existing broadcast radio revenue.Attention: “Attention is the new currency… brands want to sit on the intersection of content, community and commerce. “We are unlocking multiple revenue streams, either breakthrough in our traditional zones, or breaking out of the traditional broadcast revenue space and breaking through to new areas.”

Abe Thomas’ 4 main radio brands deliver about 80% of the company’s revenue, to get growth he is extending into new audience and advertiser segments such as:
Brand Solutions
Gamification of popular topics such as singing and cricket
Marketing Solutions for advertisers
Creative Intellectual Property that we can licence and monetise
Audience Cohorts that go beyond radio such as events
Podcasts on specialist monetizable topics such as cooking, medicine, truckers and motor dealers.
Podcasts: India is the third largest consumer of podcasts in the world, but Thomas wants to see revenue growth keeping up with listenership growth.“We are working hard to monetise this new form of audio. Talent in our 58 cities are keen to create content… we identify their opportunities and create branded podcasts for clients, then amplify them through radio. “We have created over 200 podcasts so far. All brands are looking for cohorts… we are becoming a client solution business to solve those client problems and I believe we will be able to expend out new revenue opportunities.” […]

Media Prima Audio CEO Nazri Noran shared insights into the power of disruption in his presentation at RadioDays Asia.Radio has faced many challenges and continues to do so as new technologies try to put it out of business, but radio continues to adapt.“The pandemic was the biggest challenge recently. Isolation, working from home, the rise of delivery services, content creators grew like mushrooms to entertain themselves, and the question was raised if people were still listening to radio… Radio is still alive because we have the ability to adapt and be hyper-local.”

Noran pointed out that music is “no longer the denominator for radio,” saying the future success of radio lies in “seizing the moment in big events, topical content and trendspotting.”The company has five broadcast brands – Hot FM, Kool 101, Molek FM, Fly FM and 8FM, plus Audio+, an app that supports all five radio stations, podcasts and other engaging content.He gave three examples of how his stations are seizing the moment, trendspotting and embracing topical content.When the smash hit girl group Black Pink came to Malaysia, the station jumped on the hype with welcome billboards, a mapped arrival route for fans, pink drinks, activations and concert sponsorship. “We took ownership of the event which grew engagement and audience for Fly FM.”Fly FM has also introduced the first Malaysian A.I. DJ. While the announcer is artificial, the program that she presents is fully produced by a team of real people behind the A.I DJ to gain good publicity while still broadcasting a quality program using a combination of live and artificial content.

The third example was grabbing the “sassy political heart-throb figure” KJ, a former Cabinet Minister with a huge following and turning him into a radio icon. When the station put him on air “socials blew up, it got huge attention to our brand.”The former Health Minister KJ was sacked from the government in January this year. When he was offered a radio shift, suddenly everyone was tuning in and everyone became aware of Hot FM. “This is the power of disruption,” said Noran.Photo: Media Prima on air teams […]