WorldDAB has announced the first speakers and topics for its General Assembly 2017 which will take place in Paris on November 7 and 8.
This year, the event features dedicated sessions on lessons learned from Norway's digital switchover and DAB+ in France, with speakers including the regulators and public and commercial broadcasters.
Given the significant automotive developments over the past year, with DAB+ as standard in 98% of new cars in Norway, the topic of in-car digital radio will feature strongly within each of the six sessions of this year's event.
Over 30 senior-level speakers are confirmed, representing the automotive sector, broadcasters, regulators, manufacturers and technology providers from around the world.
Taking place across two days, the programme outline is as follows:
Day one:
DAB+ in Europe: More and more broadcasters across Europe are migrating from FM to DAB+. This session looks at their motivations in doing so, the level of political support, and why they see the move to digital radio as advantageous for the listener.
DAB+ in France: The development of digital radio in France is at a critical stage. DAB+ services are on air in Paris, Nice and Marseille, and new services are expected soon in Lille, Lyon and Strasbourg. The regulator in France, the CSA, is keen to accelerate these developments and has recently undertaken a public consultation: 'Accelerating the local roll-out of DAB+ and how to organise metropolitan applications'.
Day two:
Digital Switch Over – getting the listener to follow: This session reports on the impact on listening of Norway's digital switchover from FM to DAB+, and considers the lessons learnt from the DSO process. Speakers will share what have been some of the biggest challenges, and explain how the lessons learned from Norway can make digital radio adoption easier in other countries.
The evolving business case for DAB+: We see interesting new developments that show how DAB+ is energising the radio industry, offering broadcasters the opportunity to grow audiences and revenue, automotive suppliers the ability to integrate radio in the connected vehicle while offering data services and communicating with their drivers, and new players the ability to enter the radio market with targeted content offerings.
The consumer's DAB+ journey: The consumer is at the centre of the DAB+ journey, from awareness of digital radio to buying a DAB+ receiver, using a radio at home and in the car and finding new stations – this session looks at how the consumer is the centre of the DAB+ industry.
A look further into the future with DAB+: The radio market is evolving and more importantly the future of radio in the car is changing. How can digital radio innovate to stay prominent in the car alongside different competing platforms? What do the experts from different markets, and from different parts of the industry, see as the future for DAB?
“It's an exciting time for digital radio around the world, with Norway soon to be the first to complete digital switchover, established markets going from strength to strength, new markets emerging in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, and France in particular at a crucial stage of development,” said Bernie O'Neill, Project Director, WorldDAB. “This year we have put together a compelling programme of topics and high-level speakers from around the world that includes regulators, broadcasters and manufacturers from new and established markets and the radio and automotive sectors.”
For more information on the WorldDAB General Assembly and to register, visit https://www.worlddab.org/events/detail/479