Blogging Nick Piggott

It’s been a busy week this week, and I’m beginning to realise just how much a good soundbite in a story can attract journalists. I’m also trying to understand why only one view of a story makes it to publication.

Today’s “DAB crisis panic panic” story (following on from the flurry regarding unsubstantiated statements from Germany on Friday) follows the publication of a report into DAB by a company called Enders. I have met Claire Enders, and have been interviewed for one of their previous reports on mobile TV. I guess their reports are as accurate as anyone else’s, but I feel they are written – how to say this politely – to be “headline friendly”.

The headline that caught the press-pack’s eye today was provided by quoting Richard Wheatley of The Local Radio Company, who said that “DAB is the Betamax of Radio”. Hello headlines, goodbye measured analysis.

I’m certainly not saying that all is well in the world of UK DAB. Indeed, I’ve been warning of the problems in my presentations and this blog for the last year or so. But let’s look at what Enders actually said, rather than the “we’re all doomed Captain Mainwaring” stuff.

What Enders have said is that we have to wake up (agree) and deal with the fact that the original 1990’s plan for DAB isn’t working (agree). The plan tried to replicate an analogue radio environment into a digital space with no reference point for costs and on far too little spectrum. It also used computer predictions of coverage which are now pretty universally discredited.

I’m not surprised that plan now looks wrong, given the huge amount of change in the industry in the last 18 years. Indeed, it’s a tribute to a lot of peoples’ visions and determination that UK DAB is an amazing success (6.5m unsubsidised receivers in the market, from scratch, with the just the UK driving it – that’s a miracle).  But we need to learn from the last 9 years on-air and make the necessary changes.

The doomsday headlines seem to be predicated on a pretty insulting assumption that the radio industry isn’t capable of changing; isn’t capable of redefining and restructuring DAB to continue that success for the next 20 years.

So let’s challenge that assumption. The radio industry is full of surprisingly passionate and able people, who have very clever and clear ideas on how DAB can be evolved to fix the niggles and problems. The Enders report identifies some key actors in the change piece – DigitalOne, OFCOM, Arqiva, Channel4. Well, yes, OK, they’re important, but alongside them, GCap Media, Global Radio, EMAP and the BBC are equally able to help find solutions.

As I’ve said before, most of the money invested in DAB Digital Radio goes into transmission, and therefore to Arqiva. If they aren’t willing/able to change their plans (originally predicated on 12 year licence periods), then we probably do have a big problem. And OFCOM will need to justify that the change is really necessary and beneficial to the radio eco-system in the UK.

There is no reason why DAB should be expensive as it is. DAB networks don’t cost substantially more than FM networks, DAB multiplexers are just PCs running software. The mystique is falling away as we get older and more confident. I’d love to see Richard Wheatley able to put more of TLRC’s radio stations on DAB, even DAB+, at costs well below being on FM. It’s achievable, but it requires change, and if the Enders report provides the necessary painful kick up the bum to do it, then lets swallow hard and take the medicine.

More information is starting to flow about the changes proposed to DAB Digital Radio in Germany. There is a press release from WorldDMB which corroborates the information I had earlier.

With the benefit of the full picture, it appears that the KEF has taken the not unreasonable position of expecting to see some more effective use of the money invested in DAB in Germany. They’ve broken up the funding available into smaller pots; although the word “smaller” here is relative – it’s still more than the BBC spend on creating a national DAB network of 10 stations. Access to each pot of money will require proper justification and most importantly, clear objectives for the results.

It’s quite interesting to see a funding stream specifically allocated for the development of terrestrial multimedia media services; aka, Slideshow, Broadcast Website, EPG and so on. This is, in fact, fantastic news. There’s been too long a history in all DAB countries of not developing the multimedia capabilities because it’s too hard for traditional radio people to get their heads round. By putting €32m on the table, it makes many of the incredible ideas that exist in the DAB world able to become reality for once.

So it appears that DAB in Germany is far from dead, and in fact may just be waking up. It’s interesting to speculate if the original scare story was created by someone with much to lose if DAB does take off (or perhaps much to gain if DVB-H succeeds?), but they certainly got spooked by the plans of the private and public broadcasters to co-operate and organise themselves for a rebirth of DAB in 11 months time.

I wonder now how many of the apparently reputable news sources and bloggers who fell onto the original story will have the courage to publish the truer picture now it’s been revealed? (Hello, The Register…. I shall be e-mailing you again).

Part II, dear reader, of the “What’s Going On With DAB In Germany” story. If you missed episode one yesterday (and can’t be bothered to scroll down), the scare story broke on Friday that “DAB was Dead in Germany”. The source of the story isn’t exactly clear, but it doesn’t appear to have been the KEF, as widely and inaccurately reported. (Disappointing that El Reg failed to publish either my comment on their story, nor reply to my e-mail to the journalist who wrote it. Facts obviously do get in the way of a good story on the net too).

So here’s what I’ve got to offer you on day two. This information is drawn from various reliable sources within the German radio industry, as opposed to from one over-excitable individual. There’s also a press release from the ARD (in German only, I’m afraid – babelfish is your friend).

Various rumours have recently flooded the industry that the introduction of Digital Radio in Germany could fail.  These are based largely on the recent announcement from the KEF (Kommission zur Ermittlung des Finanzbedarfes), which is the body that decides on the licence fee for public broadcasters in Germany. On January 22nd, the KEF did not allocate the full requested 140 Mio. € to the public broadcasters for the roll out of digital radio.  In fact, it was decided that the public broadcaster ARD would receive 45 Mio. € for the roll out of digital radio and Deutschlandradio would receive 19.5 Mio. € for the same purpose.  In addition 32 Mio. € will be allocated to the public broadcasters for the roll-out of terrestrial multimedia services.  This means that a total of 97 Mio.€ has been awarded to the public broadcasters for terrestrial digital radio and multimedia services.

The criticism of the commission focused on the poor results regarding the market success achieved by the public broadcasters throughout the past few years, when the KEF allotted more than 180 Mio. € for DAB digital radio.  However, the commission missed a clear commitment of public broadcasters and a convincing plan to (re-)launch Digital Radio in Germany using the DAB family of standards.  Herbert Tillmann, chairperson of the production commission and technology commission states: “ ARD, Deutschlandradio and the Private broadcasters are committed to arranging a successful new start of digital radio in 2009.  The KEF’s recommendation should not leave behind a complete technological mess, solutions are being developed now and there is active participation of the public service broadcasters.”

The broadcasters are now required to submit a proposal to the KEF for how they will use the funds by mid 2008.  This proposal for digital radio is currently being drafted by a working group of the joint digitalisation initiative of the federal and regional governments in Germany, the so-called “Forum Digitale Medien (FDM)”. Since September 2007 this working group “radio” is installed and headed by Dr. Stephan Ory, the General Manger of the association of private radio broadcasters (APR) in Germany. This group meets every four weeks and drafted a (re-) launch plan, which will be finalized and published in the 2nd quarter 2008.

In a recent press release issued from ARD, the main barriers that previously hindered the success of DAB in Germany are stated as being overcome.  “With the successful conclusion of the international radio conference in Geneva 2006, considerably more frequencies are available for terrestrial digital radio.  In addition modern audio codecs permit even more efficient use of these frequencies….the restrictions of the transmitting power, that previously impaired in door reception have now been lifted. ”

The key points of the current proposal by the broadcasters include:

- Terrestrial distribution will be the main distribution channel for radio even in the digital world.

- The VHF-frequency range offers the most suitable conditions to achieve 100% area coverage, which is mandatory for radio distribution.

- The DAB family is the preferred technology due to offering a good compromise between multiplex size and flexibility in regards to regional and local coverage.

- The Digital Radio launch 2009 will be based on a “big bang”-scenario:

   o  At least 3 multiplexes in every region;

   o  One of these multiplexes will be nationwide, offering explicitly new and exclusive content due to the fact that despite the fact that there are two public services in Germany there are currently no nationwide radio services available on FM.

There’s a large amount of noise and conflicting information emanating from Germany at the moment in the wake of an announcement by KEF, the federal body that administers the public service licencing funding in Germany.

The headline information is that the KEF have made some dramatic (indeed, melodramatic) announcements about DAB Digital Radio, some of which seem to be some distance from the reality the rest of the world is experiencing, and possibly partisan.

Rather than comment further here, I’ll just note that the outcome is far from definite, and I am informed that the various Ländesmedien are preparing to comment over the next couple of days. Once their side of the story has been stated, I’ll see if that stabilises the picture enough to say something meaningful about it.

Added to that, the right kind of restructuring and refocusing of effort around DAB in Germany might not be an altogether bad thing. It would appear that the German public service broadcasters have been generously funded to promote DAB, and the outcome has been somewhat underwhelming. In the UK we seem to have achieved a great deal more with the essential additions of wit and passion.

Two reasons to feel good about DAB today.

First up, the DRDB reported another excellent Christmas for DAB Digital Radio sales, with 550,000 units sold, taking the cumulative total to 6.45m. The projections for this year put the total at over 8m come January 2009, and 30% of households using Digital Radio in some way or other.

The continued strong sales of DAB Digital Radios is all the more remarkable given that the UK retail sector generally had a lousy Christmas,  and consumer sentiment towards discretionary purchases is pretty weak. Is this a sign that DAB is now established as the primary radio device, and no longer a special purchase?

The breakdown of sales is also interesting, with MP3/DAB Digital Radio combined devices rating well. It’s surprising when you consider that there aren’t that many MP3/DAB combination devices, that none of the major MP3 brands are making them, and that the convergence of MP3 and DAB functionality on those devices hasn’t exactly been stellar.

Handheld devices like these are more valuable to a mobile medium like radio than kitchen radios, but they do pose a particular challenge to broadcasters in providing robust enough signal strengths for them to work reliably. It can be done, but it needs a shuffle up of the existing network plans, which is going to be complicated. DAB still seems to be growing apace, and it would be disappointing if the growth of handheld DAB devices, which offer new functionality and genuine mobility, was held back because we were slow to deliver the right quality of signal to them.

To put some numbers on that challenge:

• A DAB transmitter needs to transmit 10kW of power to provide the same breadth and quality of reception on a device as an FM transmitter at 1kW (due to a combination of path loss at the different frequencies and a slightly lighter sensitivity requirement for DAB receivers) *

• DAB is (currently) allocated only 7 frequencies, which means that nearly all DAB multiplexes are either adjacent (in frequency terms) to another multiplex in the same area, or on the same frequency as another multiplex nearby. That means there is far less elbow room for manoeuvre (currently) over transmission sites and powers.

These issues are resolvable, and the upturn in sales of handheld DAB devices should provide the impetus to start that difficult process.

The second piece of “good” was tucked away in a piece that Jack Schofield wrote about My Classic fm.

Aside from the fact that My Classic fm is something rather marvellous that my team made a significant contribution too, Jack has been very much more precise about what it is that he doesn’t like DAB, which is the use of MPEG-2 as a coding technology and the poor stereo image that Joint Stereo encoding produces. And I agree totally with Jack. DAB isn’t broken, but the audio coding technology we have in the UK isn’t optimum. And fixing that is a challenge at least as big as moving transmitters round (rainy, flooded, muddy) fields, and also one that we can’t afford to shy away from.

* Hello radio transmission engineers. I realise that this is a gross over-simplification of the issue, but without going into a realm of detail, it demonstrates the scale of the issue.