Comments on: Dead and Buried? Not a bit of it http://james.cridland.net/blog/dead-and-buried-not-a-bit-of-it/ From a radio futurologist - where broadcast radio and new platforms collide. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:26:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Tim Page http://james.cridland.net/blog/dead-and-buried-not-a-bit-of-it/comment-page-1/#comment-34398 Tim Page Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:49:33 +0000 http://james.cridland.net/blog/?p=802#comment-34398 While not disagreeing with your general thrust (I rarely do!), aren't there problems comparing the UK market with Oz or the US? For me.. both those countries have huge sustainable markets based around cities with bugger all between. If the London FM/DAB market had nothing to compete with it until you got to Birmingham (or even Leeds/Manchester), I suspect those stations would be on a lot firmer footing.. and there'd probably be half a dozen more - all on twice the power. And we in the UK wouldn't be worrying about the state of Laser, UKRD or CN, because they'd never have existed. I don't knock the idea that local radio stations for Stratford, Wellingborough and Harlow are a nice-to-have - but I think they make the picture very different from Australia - on whichever waveband. While not disagreeing with your general thrust (I rarely do!), aren’t there problems comparing the UK market with Oz or the US?

For me.. both those countries have huge sustainable markets based around cities with bugger all between.

If the London FM/DAB market had nothing to compete with it until you got to Birmingham (or even Leeds/Manchester), I suspect those stations would be on a lot firmer footing.. and there’d probably be half a dozen more – all on twice the power.

And we in the UK wouldn’t be worrying about the state of Laser, UKRD or CN, because they’d never have existed.

I don’t knock the idea that local radio stations for Stratford, Wellingborough and Harlow are a nice-to-have – but I think they make the picture very different from Australia – on whichever waveband.

]]> By: Briantist http://james.cridland.net/blog/dead-and-buried-not-a-bit-of-it/comment-page-1/#comment-34397 Briantist Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:30:48 +0000 http://james.cridland.net/blog/?p=802#comment-34397 Hi James, You’re certainly right about our MediaGuardian having a downer on DAB! They even did a special podcast to attempt to dance on it’s grave. Anyway, yes, you are right, and yes, you might be able to do something about it. What we need here is a “Freehear” service, where the BBC organises running the three national multiplexes, so that all the coverage problems can be pooled. It is as easy to run three DAB multiplexes from each transmitter tower as it is to do one, isn’t it. This would improve the coverage of all three DAB multiplexes and reduce the management costs of the bitstream distribution system. The BBC could then use the “spare” bandwidth on what is now the “Digital 1″ service to either increase the bitrates for the existing BBC services, or the BBC could create some “low cost” services. The “low cost” services could be the audio (and Astons) from the BBC News channel, and the audio description feeds from BBC One and Two. If the BBC wanted to do a little investment, a BBC Switch service might be a good thing to do. Another idea would be to fund another speech service, one that is produced totally by independents, (at arms length from the BBC?) to compensate for the loss of the Channel 4 Radio idea. DAB+ Another idea for the defunct second commercial multiplex is to rebroadcast all the BBC services on there in DAB+, and announce that in 2013 the original DAB BBC national service will close. This would offer an upgrade pathway to DAB+ on all three national multiplexes, which would increase the digital radio sound quality in the end. Hi James,

You’re certainly right about our MediaGuardian having a downer on DAB! They even did a special podcast to attempt to dance on it’s grave.

Anyway, yes, you are right, and yes, you might be able to do something about it.

What we need here is a “Freehear” service, where the BBC organises running the three national multiplexes, so that all the coverage problems can be pooled. It is as easy to run three DAB multiplexes from each transmitter tower as it is to do one, isn’t it.

This would improve the coverage of all three DAB multiplexes and reduce the management costs of the bitstream distribution system.

The BBC could then use the “spare” bandwidth on what is now the “Digital 1″ service to either increase the bitrates for the existing BBC services, or the BBC could create some “low cost” services.

The “low cost” services could be the audio (and Astons) from the BBC News channel, and the audio description feeds from BBC One and Two.

If the BBC wanted to do a little investment, a BBC Switch service might be a good thing to do.

Another idea would be to fund another speech service, one that is produced totally by independents, (at arms length from the BBC?) to compensate for the loss of the Channel 4 Radio idea.

DAB+

Another idea for the defunct second commercial multiplex is to rebroadcast all the BBC services on there in DAB+, and announce that in 2013 the original DAB BBC national service will close.

This would offer an upgrade pathway to DAB+ on all three national multiplexes, which would increase the digital radio sound quality in the end.

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