Heart and Smooth Changes

On DAB+ Heart Extra and Smooth Extra have been replaced by national versions of the main Heart and Smooth stations. Global have announced that this is to improve access to the stations, a move which appears counter productive, giving the earlier switch to DAB+, a newer version of DAB, which older digital radios are unable…Read moreRead more

Gold to Launch on D1 National

Global Radio’s Gold is to launch on the D1 National DAB multiplex on Monday (10th June). The service is expected to use DAB+, and occupy some of the space vacated when Heart Extra and Smooth Extra switched to DAB+ earlier this week. Despite some reports suggesting that the service has already gone live, Gold is…Read moreRead more

Heart Extra and Smooth Extra Switch to DAB+

Global Radio has switched Heart Extra and Smooth Extra to DAB+. Both services operate on the D1 National multiplex. Whilst both stations are now in stereo, a number of listeners will loose access, as many older DAB radios are not compatible with the newer DAB+ format. Heart Extra is using a bit rate of 32…Read moreRead more

Latest Audience Figures Report Growth In Digital Listening

The RAJAR Q1 2018 audience figures has reported a growth in digital listeners, with 50% of listening done via digital platforms (including DAB, digital TV, and online). A number of digital only stations have increased in popularity: Heart 80s now reaches 1.4 million listeners, but Absolute Radio 80s (with a smaller coverage area) remains the…Read moreRead more