64 percent of the population listen to the radio after the major radio stations stopped their broadcasts over FM, compared to 74 percent before, according to new figures.
– We see that the citizens keep to their radio habits and cross over to digital platforms. A certain drop in figures is to be expected.
In a major change of technology, it is natural that some need time to make the transition, says, general manager of Digital radio Norway, Ole Jørgen Torvmark, on behalf of the national radio stations
.
Nationwide radio broadcast disappeared from the FM network in Nordland January 11th.
Increased radio purchases
The surveyors of Kantar TNS have looked into radio habits after the first FM shutdown. The survey shows that the total number of Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) radios in Nordland is now 224,000, against 165,000 before the extinction of FM.
The total number for listening to radio has declined from 74 percent to 64 percent of the population.
Nationwide the radio network has already been changed to DAB only in Nordland, Nord-Trøndelag, Sør-Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal.
In a survey conducted by the Norwegian Truck Owners Federation (NLF) among its members more than three quarters of them said that radio coverage is perceived as inferior to what is was before the transition.
– When three out of four professional drivers feel that radio coverage now is worse than before, it should alarm the authorities. This may in the worst case even lead to important messages about life and death not being received life, CEO of NLF, Geir A. Mo, states.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
