Only months out from the roll out of digital radio in Australia one of the UK’s leading content providers Channel 4 has pulled the plug on the technology claiming that vendors are not interested in advertising on digital radio and that the technology has become unaffordable.
“The decision does not look good for Australia in light of the economic downturn and forecasts that radio advertising is set to decline next year” said a major media buyer.
The BBC reports that Channel 4 who were part of a consortium who were due to open 10 digital radio stations has abandoned plans to set up three of the planned digital radio stations with Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan claiming that the decision had been taken “very reluctantly”.
“Advertisers were not interested and the technology has become unaffordable” he said.
Now the UK regulator Ofcom is in crisis talks to assess the future of the project. In a statement issued in London they said that the BBC and other partners would be consulted in an effort to secure a viable outcome”
Channel 4 is expected to save $28m in 2009 by abandoning the stations.
In Australia the roll out of digital radio has been put back to May 2009 when services will begin in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. At a recent press conference Commercial Radio Australia were reluctant to discuss delays which have been caused by a lack of service Companies to build the new digital network towers.
Several retailers including JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman and its sister chain Domayne are looking for a big upside from the sale of Digital Radio’s in Australia, however one problem they face is that the DAB processor that used to deliver digital radio is set to be built into receivers and home theatre kits as standard features thus eliminating the need to but a separate radio.
