'News: "Digital News Network" News & Information DAB Radio Station Suddenly Closed' by Grant Goddard
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News story about the sudden closure of DAB digital radio station 'Digital News Network' in the UK market, written by Grant Goddard in July 2006 for The Radio Magazine.
![News: 'Digital News Network' News & Information DAB Radio Station Suddenly Closed page 2
©2006 Grant Goddard
The 'Digital News Network' [DNN] radio station closed suddenly last Friday,
having been broadcast on DAB local multiplexes owned by the MXR
consortium in South Wales, the Midlands, Yorkshire, the Northwest and the
Northeast.
From September, Chrysalis plc (which held a 22% stake in DNN) has said it
will instead relay its London talk station 'LBC 97.3' on these multiplexes,
“augmented with tailored regional news and information”.
LBC managing director David Lloyd commented: “We’ve always had an
impressive response to the personalities on LBC programmes from outside
London, so it’s perfect to be able to deliver our distinctive 24-hour conversation
more readily now to so many new regions on DAB.”
The closure of DNN concludes the commercial radio industry’s provision of
news services for digital radio that tried to compete with the BBC, and follows
the closure of the 'ITN News' and 'Bloomberg Business News' stations that had
been carried on the national DAB digital multiplex.
Chrysalis had originally explained that “each DNN station is produced locally
within each region by experienced staff to achieve the best possible output.”
By contrast, Ofcom’s licence for LBC FM requires it to be “a 24-hour service of
news, views and entertainment for Londoners”.
The switch from DNN to LBC will increase the number of DAB stations that are
merely re-broadcasts of existing analogue stations outside their licensed
areas. At present, DAB radio licences require no local content relevant to their
broadcast area, enabling radio groups to extend existing analogue brands to
new out-of-area audiences at low cost. Some MXR multiplexes will soon add
the new UBC Media plc music download service linked to Chrysalis’ 'Heart'
stations, an innovation that requires additional bandwidth.
[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'DNN Closed', #747, 2 August 2006]
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](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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'News: "Digital News Network" News & Information DAB Radio Station Suddenly Closed' by Grant Goddard
- 1. NEWS: 'DIGITAL NEWS NETWORK' NEWS & INFORMATION DAB RADIO STATION SUDDENLY CLOSED by GRANT GODDARD www.grantgoddard.co.uk July 2006
- 2. News: 'Digital News Network' News & Information DAB Radio Station Suddenly Closed page 2 ©2006 Grant Goddard The 'Digital News Network' [DNN] radio station closed suddenly last Friday, having been broadcast on DAB local multiplexes owned by the MXR consortium in South Wales, the Midlands, Yorkshire, the Northwest and the Northeast. From September, Chrysalis plc (which held a 22% stake in DNN) has said it will instead relay its London talk station 'LBC 97.3' on these multiplexes, “augmented with tailored regional news and information”. LBC managing director David Lloyd commented: “We’ve always had an impressive response to the personalities on LBC programmes from outside London, so it’s perfect to be able to deliver our distinctive 24-hour conversation more readily now to so many new regions on DAB.” The closure of DNN concludes the commercial radio industry’s provision of news services for digital radio that tried to compete with the BBC, and follows the closure of the 'ITN News' and 'Bloomberg Business News' stations that had been carried on the national DAB digital multiplex. Chrysalis had originally explained that “each DNN station is produced locally within each region by experienced staff to achieve the best possible output.” By contrast, Ofcom’s licence for LBC FM requires it to be “a 24-hour service of news, views and entertainment for Londoners”. The switch from DNN to LBC will increase the number of DAB stations that are merely re-broadcasts of existing analogue stations outside their licensed areas. At present, DAB radio licences require no local content relevant to their broadcast area, enabling radio groups to extend existing analogue brands to new out-of-area audiences at low cost. Some MXR multiplexes will soon add the new UBC Media plc music download service linked to Chrysalis’ 'Heart' stations, an innovation that requires additional bandwidth. [First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'DNN Closed', #747, 2 August 2006] 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