National radio stations went fully digital in Norway on Wednesday 13th December,
at 11:11.11am, after a year-long transition.
The last regions to get the
FM stations were Troms, Finnmark and Svalbard. Now there’s only local stations
left using the FM band, which will continue for some time.
Ole Jørgen
Torvmark, CEO of Digital Radio Norway (DRN) says listeners are leaving it till
the last minute to buy new radio sets, with most buying just after the FM
switch-off.
Norway currently has 31 national radio channels on DAB,
compared to the 5 national channels previous on FM. The new National channels,
transmitting only on DAB, have gained more listeners in 2017. New channels now
account for about one-third of the total listening. Every day, 1.4 million
Norwegians listen to channels that had not existed without the digital radio
shift.
Total listening is expected to increase gradually in 2018 when the
last listeners do the conversion. (Radio Today)
