New digital radio body looks to appoint a chief exec

The Digital Radio Development Bureau is to be dismantled and incorporated into a newly created body that has been set up to meet the government’s 2015 digital radio switchover target as outlined in Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report.

The new government-appointed Digital Radio Delivery Group (DRDG) will take over the DRDB’s responsibilities and will aim to remove all of the UK’s national radio stations and many local radio services from analogue to ensure that at least 50% of all radio listening is via digital platforms by 2013.

The latest RAJAR report, for quarter two 2009, shows that DAB set ownership has increased 22% year on year, with 16.9m adults (15+) now claiming to live in a household which has a DAB receiver. The data also shows that 13.1% of all radio listening is now via DAB, up from 11% in the same period a year ago.

In a bid to improve these figures and drive the digital migration strategy, the new body is currently advertising for a chief executive, although has specified that the successful candidate does not need to come from within the radio industry.

According to the advert, they must be an “experienced senior manager in the media or related industry with a track record of delivering outstanding results in complex stakeholder environments”, with a “world-class project delivery track record gained in a similarly complex political, commercial, or technical environment”.

The new chief will report directly to the BBC’s director of audio and vision and chairman of the Radio Council Tim Davie as well as the chief executive of the Radio Centre Andrew Harrison.

The Radio Council hopes to make an appointment before the end of the year.