• Spain’s Secretary General for Telecommunications brings support for DAB+ digital radio
• AER, Bauer Media Group, and EBU join WorldDAB in Madrid to call for broadcast radio prominence in dashboards
• “Radio Ready for Connected Cars” launched, a global collaboration between commercial and public service broadcasters.
Public and private broadcasters joined forces at WorldDAB Automotive 2025 in Madrid to deliver a unified message to the automotive sector: broadcast radio must remain prominent in the evolving in-car environment.
The unique event brought together almost 200 senior executives from across the global automotive and broadcast industries to explore the future of radio in the digital dashboard.
Spain’s Secretary General for Telecommunications, Matías González Martín, welcomed delegates to Madrid, saying “we are fully aware of the value of DAB+ digital radio - we support it, and events like this.” He said a round of contact with stakeholders was underway, with a decision due in the coming weeks on regulatory measures to promote movement to DAB+.
Following this, in a powerful opening session, leaders from major European organisations highlighted the essential role of radio in the car:
• Edita Kudláčová, Head of Radio, European Broadcasting Union, said: “Radio has always been there for us in our cars, a much loved and greatly trusted companion. I can't imagine what could fill the gap if it were ever to disappear from the dashboard. We must continue to innovate – together! – to ensure that radio distribution is fit for our increasingly connected world.”
• Tobias Nielsen, Senior Vice President Digital, Bauer Media Group, stated: “It is essential for Bauer Media to ensure that radio remains accessible, prominent, and easily discoverable in cars in the future.”
• Stefan Möller, President, Association of European Radios, added “We need to work together as an industry and collaborate with the car industry to maintain radio in the car; this is also important from a safety point of view.”
Jacqueline Bierhorst, President of WorldDAB, who moderated the session said: “It’s clear that a hybrid approach, combining DAB+, FM, and IP, is essential to ensuring radio retains control over its own distribution. This is key to levelling the playing field with digital tech giants in the dashboard. I’m proud that public and private broadcasters are united in this clear message and have come together today to engage openly with our partners in the automotive sector."
Later in the day, Tobias Nielsen and the EBU’s Tomas Granryd announced the launch of “Radio Ready for Connected Cars,” a global collaboration between commercial and public service broadcasters, focused on audience needs. “Listeners will continue to demand free, frictionless, prominent radio in the connected car, and both broadcasters and car makers should be ready to support it,” they urged.
Spotlight on Spain
The choice of Madrid as host city for WorldDAB Automotive reflects Spain’s position as one of the largest car manufacturers in Europe, and a growing DAB+ market. The country’s public broadcaster RTVE, in partnership with network operator Cellnex, now broadcasts DAB+ services in 15 cities.
Javier Sánchez Perez, Director of the Audiovisual Policy and Public Service Department, RTVE, said “Spain needs DAB+. He called for sustainable investment to guarantee resilient and accessible radio services for all citizens, with high coverage, new radio services and Automatic Safety Alerts (ASA), ensuring long-term access to DAB+ through 2040 and beyond. He warned: “If prominence of broadcast linear radio in vehicles is not ensured, radio will disappear from vehicles. If radio disappears from vehicles, it is very likely that radio will disappear.”
WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst also highlighted significant DAB+ progress in recent months, with DAB+ launching in Turkey in February, and a national rollout announced in Greece, alongside new trials in Ireland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Thailand. Elsewhere, Switzerland’s SRG SSR became all-digital at the turn of the year with the end of FM broadcasts, and Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein continues switch-over – on 30 June, Deutschlandfunk and Deutschlandfunk Kultur will switch completely to DAB+ at twelve locations and for a total of 16 transmitters.
WorldDAB Project Director Bernie O’Neill announced that its flagship Summit event will be held in the DPG Media building in Antwerp, Belgium on Thursday 20 November 2025.
Info: www.worlddab.org/events/detail/682 & www.worlddab.org/events/detail/718
Notes: Press Release | WorldDAB | 19 June 2025
