Rise of Digital Radio

The conversion from analog radio to digital radio is 'well under way around the world and gaining momentum rapidly', according to research by In-Stat. Worldwide, the market for digital radio receivers will grow from 5m units in 2005 to almost 25m in 2010, with Europe leading.

Analyst Stephanie Ethier says the key factors in this rapid growth are falling receiver prices, more and better digital programming, promotion and advertising of the medium and the enhanced functionality of receivers. 'Overall, digital radio is still an emerging market. Opportunities abound for retailers, broadcasters, automobile OEMs, and receiver manufacturers alike.'

In Europe digital is taking over as the dominant medium for radio, with the UK leading the way – here, more DAB radios were shipped this year than analog. In-Stat forecasts from 2006 suggest that XM now has around 8 million subscribers, and Sirius 6.3 million. In a 2006 survey in the US, 27% of respondents were still unaware of HD Radio, but the proportion is shrinking.

The report, More Consumers to Tune Into Digital Radio in 2007, gives forecasts for the Americas, Europe, and Asia and covers market share, competition, behaviour and demand for emerging portable media players, digital radios, and Internet access mobile phones. More detail on the research is at http://email.in-stat.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/e2750Hk7Gs0K560DesK0A5 .

In-Stat is part of Reed Business Information, a unit of the Reed Elsevier global information network and is online at www.in-stat.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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