Nearly Half A Million DAB Radios Sold In Q1

Nearly half a million DAB digital radios were sold in quarter one 2008 delivering sales growth of 28% year-on-year, according to figures from GfK, the industry’s marketing service.

Cumulative sales of DAB radio sets at the end of March stood at 6.94 million.

In a tough retail quarter on the High Street, 489,000 DAB sets were sold in January, February and March. This is 7% above the Digital Radio Development Bureau’s forecast for the period.

At yesterday’s MediaGuardian.co.uk Radio Reborn conference , DRDB acting chief executive, Paul Brown, said: “DAB digital radio came under fire earlier this year following announcements of withdrawal from the medium by GCap Media and the loss of several national DAB services.

“However, consumer, retailer and manufacturer confidence in DAB remains high as these figures demonstrate. That confidence is supported by the radio industry which is working together to ensure the future DAB landscape remains an attractive proposition for listeners.”

In total, DAB now accounts for 20% of all radio sales by volume, and 26% of all sales by value, said the DRDB.

DAB sales value too continues to grow, up 10% year-on-year and now annually worth £172 million. In particular, DAB now accounts for 82% of portable kitchen radio sales by value. Volume sales in this sector continue to grow and are up 13% year-on-year.

There are also encouraging signs in the in-car after-fit market with the recent release of a plug-and-go in-car adapter from PURE Digital. After several years with little growth, in the three months since the Highway was launched, DAB after-fit volume sales have grown 14% year-on-year.

DRDB: 020 7306 2630 www.drdb.org