German public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Radio) will end its shortwave broadcasts on 1 October 2010. From 1949-2005, Bayerischer Rundfunk broadcast in analogue mode on 6085 kHz, and in 2005 this was changed to a DRM relay of the news channel B5 Aktuell. Bayerischer Rundfunk has now decided to cease shortwave broadcasting to save costs. The decision was made taking to account that there is still a very small selection of DRM receivers, and the market has so far not developed satisfactorily. Reverting to analogue shortwave is not a practical alternative. On 2 May 2005, Bayerischer Rundfunk started broadcasting in DRM mode on its shortwave transmitter at Ismaning near Munich by converting its existing analogue shortwave transmitter to digital. The small financial outlay would be recovered from lower ongoing operating costs. B5 was broadcast at 06.00 to 00.05 local time. But a new DRM radio was required to receive the service. Bayerischer Rundfunk was an early adopter of DRM, in the hope of assisting in its development. A number of other broadcasters have also made DRM transmissions, but the selection of suitable receivers has been limited to a small number of expensive devices, and only a small number have been sold. (Media Network)
