Radio Adapter Helps Analogue Listeners Go Digital
Digital Radio looks set to receive a massive boost this Christmas with the launch of a new adapter that allows listeners to upgrade their analogue hi-fis to digital.
The industry’s first DAB Audio Adapter enables consumers to use their existing radio, DVD and home computer equipment to tune in to hundreds of digital stations in addition to those available on the AM or FM frequencies.
The so-called ‘plug and play device’ goes on sale in Dixons and Curries stores across the UK later this month for £59.99 in a move that looks set to help digital radios outsell conventional receivers for the first time since they hit the shops four years ago.
John Mewett, marketing director at Dixons, said: “If you’re looking to buy a new hi-fi this Christmas and want to join the DAB revolution, you’re no longer limited to models with a built in DAB radio function. This product offers the flexibility to choose the hi-fi which best suits your needs, budget and style whilst still getting the benefits of DAB.”
Digital radio has enjoyed a period of significant growth recently following the launch of a raft of new stations aimed a niche audiences. The latest figures from the DAB suggest that the number of digital radio listeners in the UK could reach one million by the end of the year and if consumer uptake continues, there will be 13 million DAB receivers in homes by 2008.
Ian Dickens chief executive of the DRDB, said: “The new digital radio adapter announced by Dixons today is further proof that DAB technology is here to stay. It means consumers have even more control over what they listen to and how they receive it. The DRDB expects the Dixons adapter to play a major role in bringing even more people to the DAB experience this Christmas.”
The growing popularity of digital radio recently prompted key figures from the radio industry to call on the Government to announce a definitive switch-off date for the analogue signal. GWR chairman Ralph Bernard wrote to the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, to demand a target date that would enable the entire country to be converted to digital (see Radio Industry Calls For Analogue Switch-Off Date).
However, media super-regulator Ofcom has warned that it will not be rushed into setting a definite switch-off date for the analogue signal, claiming that a premature deadline could make the transition to digital less achievable for the majority of UK radio companies (see Ofcom In No Rush To Set Switch-Off Date For Radio).
DRDB: 020 7306 2630 www.drdb.org.uk
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