WorldDAB’s latest market report reveals that, by the end of Q2 2017, almost 60 million consumer and automotive DAB/DAB+ receivers (58,432,000) had been sold in Europe and Asia Pacific – up from 48 million one year earlier.

The report includes statistics on receiver sales, road and population coverage, household penetration and the number of national stations on DAB/DAB+ compared to FM. The report covers Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK, along with DAB rollout status for emerging markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Key findings of the report include:

• Almost 10 million receivers have been sold in Germany (9.9 million) and 15 per cent of German households now own at least one DAB receiver
• Over four million receivers have been sold in Norway (4,130,000) as digital switchover nears completion
• In Switzerland, over half of all radio listening (57 per cent) is via digital platforms – with 32 per cent via DAB+
• In the UK, 60 per cent of households have at least one DAB radio with digital listening approaching 50 per cent
• In the Netherlands, 35 per cent of new cars are now sold with DAB+, up from 26 per cent at the end of 2016
• Italy, France and Belgium all show positive signs of growth in the last year

Patrick Hannon, President, WorldDAB, said: “Digital radio has made excellent progress in the last 12 months across all markets, encouraged by strong political commitment, the launch of new services and increased investment from broadcasters and manufacturers. The impact of Norway’s digital switchover, due to complete by the end of this year, is being felt around the world and, with Switzerland starting switchover in 2020, momentum for digital radio continues to build.”

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