The take-up of digital radio in the UK is set to get a boost in the coming months as a number of retailers today announced plans to stock digital audio broadcasting (DAB) receivers in their stores.
GWR Group, a champion of the DAB platform, today said that Sainsbury’s will be stocking digital radios in 125 of its stores, whilst Tesco’s will sell DAB equipment in 20 of its top stores. At least one other major supermarket chain is also planning to stock the equipment, according to GWR.
Electrical retailer, Dixons, claims that 50% of radio receivers sold in its shops are now digital. Comet also forecasts that a third of its radio sales this Christmas will be digital.
Sales are likely to be driven by the strong awareness-building campaign currently underway by the BBC. Both the BBC and GWR Group are members of the Digital Radio Development Bureau, which is forecasting cumulative sales of 500,000 sets by the end of 2003 and one million by December 2004 (see Digital Radio Sales Could Hit 1 Million By 2004, Says DRDB).
The Government has said that it is planning to conduct a review of the UK’s digital radio industry, which could lead to a timetable for a ‘switch-off’ of analogue radio broadcasting (see Government Announces Review Of Digital Radio).
