Desligar o analógico para forçar o digital (GB)

«THE DAYS of analogue radio could finally be numbered, at least if you believe the report published by Ofcom last week. After years of tip-toeing around the subject, the regulator gave the strongest sign yet that it would switch off the FM and medium wave signals and make old radios obsolete. With plans to review medium wave and FM in 2009 and 2012 respectively, medium wave could go in the latter year and FM is unlikely to be around beyond the end of that decade. This will be possible because by that time, Ofcom believes, digital radio will finally have come of age. It expects about half of all radio listening to be digital by 2012 and about 90% by 2017. These numbers had many radio observers swallowing hard. While Freeview took off like a rocket on the back of cheap set-top boxes promising attractive new television channels, digital radio is still a minority interest. According to Ofcom's numbers it now makes up 20% of radio listening through a combination of digital radio, television and the internet, compared to 16% late last summer. And while this compares woefully with the over four-fifths of households that have digital television, figures by radio measurement body Rajar suggest the real number might be even lower. Rajar believes digital radio listening made up 12.5% by the end of last year, and may have stalled slightly given that it was 11% the year before and 6% in 2004. Whatever the truth, it clearly still has a steep mountain to climb to become an essential accessory in the majority of homes. Patrick Hannon, a manager at Spectrum Strategy Consultants, says: "The numbers do seem high. You would probably need to have switched off medium wave and announced that FM is going to be switched off to get to 90% digital radio listening by 2017."

fonte: «Analogue radio could be history by 2020 … if Ofcom wins the day», Sunday Herald, 22/04/07 By Steven Vass,

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