<p dir="ltr">Just worthwhile knowing that the stations leaving FM for DAB+ in Norway account for 95% of all radio listening.</p>
<p dir="ltr">J<br>
</p>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, 22 Apr 2015 13:50 Steve Buckley <<a href="mailto:steve.cms@gmail.com">steve.cms@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">It seems our Norewegian counterparts are none too happy about proposed FM switch off...<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Norsk Lokalradioforbund</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:post@lokalradio.no" target="_blank">post@lokalradio.no</a>></span><br>Date: Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 1:04 PM<br>Subject: Press Release - No FM Switchoff - FM retained for local radio<br>To: <a href="mailto:svein@lokalradio.no" target="_blank">svein@lokalradio.no</a><br><br><br><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Press release
for immediate release</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></b></p><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Oslo, Norway April 22<sup>nd</sup>, 2015</span></b>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:right;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" align="right"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:right;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" align="right"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:right;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" align="right"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><b><span style="font-size:16pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">No FM Switch-Off in Norway</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"><br>
<br>
<b><i>FM retained for local radio outside four metropolitan areas. Only
community stations will continue in metropolitan areas. DAB radio is far away
from a success in the Nordic countries.</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"><b><i><br></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Norwegian Minister of Culture has
announced that as the terms now have been met i.e. 50 % are
"listening digitally" there will be a proposal an FM switch-off 2017.
("Digital listening" includes radio via DVB-T and Internet). However,
a few days ago the Government Statistical Bureau reported that listening to DAB
radio is 19 % on a daily basis. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">This proposal is up for decision
in Stortinget (the parliament) later this spring. Still there is a
majority for the proposal but opposition is growing. The government coalition
partner the Progress Party has been against switching off FM since the first
proposal for DAB came up in Stortinget 2011 and now the Green Party is against
the switch off.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">200 local commercial radio and community
radio stations outside the four largest cities can continue on FM. This sector
is also being unregulated. The stations are all five year prolonged licenses at
no fee. Licensing is a simple registration with the media authority.
Requirements on local news and local content will be removed as well as limits
on income.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">This successful step towards
introduction of the DAB system in Norway has been made because of lobbying
by the DAB promoting company Digitalradio Norge AS and not by consumer demands
on a free market. The plans have been meet by forceful opposition by the
local radio sector as this transition plan is regarded as an obstacle to
small-scale radio business 2017 leaving all FM investments consider lost.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">This is a sensitive issue as most
profiting on the transition are the two foreign-owned radio companies -
MTG and SBS - while local radio is Norwegian owned and operated. 23 local
stations on FM in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger with suburbs areas will
be forced to broadcast only on DAB+ from 2017.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Neighboring countries as
Finland has opted out of DAB already 2009 and in Sweden a proposed DAB
transition has been widely criticized by the opinion and in a consultation by
qualified institutions. A National Audit report April 14 recommend Sweden to
retain FM. In Denmark the government has put a proposed FM switch-off on
hold. FM radio will be the dominant system for terrestrial
broadcasting for decades to come in the Nordic countries and probably in most
countries Europe.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5pt;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US">The decision by the government for a
fast track to a transition ignores the fact that millions of
foreign motorists visiting Norway annually as tourist or in professional
business. This means that most visitors will not be able to listen to
national channels as the public radio for emergency alerts, traffic information
etc. as well as local channels in Oslo and three other cities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" lang="EN-US">FM and online listening will be
global standards for radio for decades to come. This will be mainly on mobile
devices as smartphones in all countries.</span><br>
<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"><br>
<b><span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">We don't envisage that the 20 year old DAB system
will be a technology implemented for such devices, says Svein Larsen President
of Norwegian Local Radio Association.</span></b></span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" lang="EN-US"> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" lang="EN-US"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"><b><span style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><br></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" lang="EN-US">For more
information:</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" lang="EN-US"><br></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" lang="EN-US">Contact Mr. Svein Larsen at <a href="tel:%2B47%C2%A0930%2043%C2%A0400" value="+4793043400" target="_blank">+47 930 43 400</a> or <a href="mailto:svein@lokalradio.no" target="_blank">svein@lokalradio.no</a> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Verdana,sans-serif" lang="EN-US"></span></p></div>
</div><br></div>
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