Stations combine to celebrate three years of digital radio

Over 50 radio stations joined together this morning to do a simultaneous broadcast across Australian cities to celebrate three years of digital radio.

The side-by-side broadcasts took place from 5am to 9am AEST in a number of central locations in the five cities where digital radio broadcasts are available: Circular Quay in Sydney, Federation Square in Melbourne, King George Square in Brisbane, Victoria Square in Adelaide and Perth Cultural Centre.

Three years after its launch, DAB+ digital radio has nearly 1.3 million people listening in each week, with digital AM and FM stations broadcasting out of the five state capital cities to the 900,000 DAB+ devices that have been sold in Australia.

Nearly one in 10 Australian households owns a digital radio device, with PricewaterhouseCoopers analysts forecasting that product penetration will reach 18 per cent by June 2014.

The roll-out of digital radio to the rest of Australia is underway, with proposed timelines to be discussed by the Federal Government later this year.