Analysis of the untruthful assertion by DAB digital radio lobbyist group Digital Radio UK that 40% of listening to 'BBC Radio 4' show 'Today' is via DAB platform, written by Grant Goddard in November 2010 for Grant Goddard: Radio Blog.

1. DAB DIGITAL RADIO LIES:
LOBBYIST CLAIMS 40% OF
LISTENING TO 'BBC RADIO 4'
FLAGSHIP 'TODAY' SHOW IS VIA
DAB PLATFORM
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
November 2010

2. DAB Digital Radio Lies: Lobbyist Claims 40% Of Listening To 'BBC Radio 4' Flagship 'Today' Show Is Via DAB
Platform page 2
©2010 Grant Goddard
The Today Programme, 'BBC Radio 4', 22 November 2010 @ 0735
Ford Ennals, chief executive, Digital Radio UK [FE]
Q: Doubts persist over this particular digital standard [DAB], don’t they? Let’s just go through
some. First of all: that it’s a stop-gap and that we’d all be better off with internet radio, which
will become possible in cars and all over the place, and that there will really be no need for
DAB at all.
FE: Well, look, what is certain is that the future of radio in the UK, and right across Europe, is
digital. And what that’s going to bring is more choice, more competition, and more innovation
…
Q: [interrupts] But your particular ‘digital’ is DAB digital, isn’t it …
FE: [interrupts] Well, no. It’s …
Q: … and there are other technologies available?
FE: No, not at all. We’re here to support and promote the transition to digital radio in all its
forms, whether it be online, whether it be on TV, or whether it be DAB. DAB is one of those
platforms. But, what we do see is great certainty that DAB is, if you like, the broadcast
transmission backbone of radio, not just in the UK, but in Europe. There are 40% of all your
listeners this morning listen to this programme, are listening on a DAB radio. And, I think, the
simple fact is that, if they were all listening online, it couldn’t be supported and the internet
would crash. So, right now, IP, as you call it, or online, just isn’t the right technology. It can’t
sustain broadcast transmission of radio, and it’s not cost-effective, and it isn’t an option in the
short or medium term.
Q: [incredulous] 40% of our listeners are listening on digital? Does that include listeners in
cars, because I don’t know a single person who has got a digital radio in their car, I don’t
think?
FE: Well, I think you have highlighted the real opportunity here. Car manufacturers have been
slow to put digital radios in cars but, since the passage of the Digital Economy Act and the
launch of the Digital Radio Action Programme [sic], they’ve now committed to having all new
cars with digital radios in by 2013, and we’ve started to see Ford and Vauxhall and Mini putting
them in. And I think that’s very important because …
Q: [interrupts] The ‘40%.’ Sorry, though. The ‘40%’ figure – did that include people in cars?
FE: Yes, urm. The 40% does include people in cars …
Q: Really?
FE: … and the targets that government have set also includes people in cars. So, what
government is saying is, and I think supported by industry, is that we want to see 50% of
listening to a digital platform, including DAB, before we take a firm decision about a switchover
date.
Q: Mmm. Last quarter, digital listening was actually down, wasn’t it? It sort of implies that the
message isn’t getting through.
FE: Well, actually, as I said, 40% of listeners are listening on digital. That’s over 20 million
people every week listening to digital. This year, we’ve seen it grow by 20%. So, typically, what
we see is growth in the first half-year, it slows down in the second half, and then steps up
again in the second half [sic]. So, actually, quarter-on-quarter, we’ve seen moderate growth,
but 20% growth year-on-year, and we’re looking for a major step at the beginning of next year.
And, what I would say to people, if you’re buying a radio for a present this Christmas, make
sure it’s a digital radio.

3. …………………………………………………..
Dear ‘Today’
I was shocked to hear Ford Ennals, chief executive of lobby group Digital Radio UK, proclaim
on your programme that:
“there are 40% of all your listeners this morning listen to this programme, are listening
on a DAB radio.”
This statement is not merely an exaggeration, it is wholly untrue. The radio industry’s audience
data (produced by RAJAR, published by Ofcom for Q1 2010) show that 27% of listening to
Radio 4 is via all digital platforms, which include digital television, the internet … and DAB. See
graph below.
In-car listening accounts for 19% of total radio usage, but this proportion is likely to be
considerably higher during the morning commute period. Because DAB radios are installed in
less than 1% of cars, it is probable that much, much less than 27% of listening to the ‘Today’
programme is via DAB.
DAB Digital Radio Lies: Lobbyist Claims 40% Of Listening To 'BBC Radio 4' Flagship 'Today' Show Is Via DAB
Platform page 3
©2010 Grant Goddard

4. DAB Digital Radio Lies: Lobbyist Claims 40% Of Listening To 'BBC Radio 4' Flagship 'Today' Show Is Via DAB
Platform page 4
©2010 Grant Goddard
Ford Ennals’ untruthful statement is only the latest in a long line of disinformation perpetuated
by commercial forces that will gain financially from DAB take-up, and which are designed to
mislead the public into buying DAB radios.
Yours
Grant Goddard
[First published by Grant Goddard: Radio Blog as 'DAB Radio Lies: Lobbyist Claims 40% Of Listening to Radio 4's
"Today" Programme Is Via DAB', 22 November 2010.]
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk