Digital radio needs government push

Simon Cole, chief executive of radio content company UBC Media, is calling on the government to launch a large-scale advertising campaign to promote digital radio, claiming it would be "outrageous" if politicians threw their weight behind digital terrestrial TV but left radio on the sidelines. "The government has announced it will help the up-take and marketing of digital television. If it will do something for digital TV, I would like to see a government funded advertising campaign for digital radio,” he told reporters. “I think it is absolutely incumbent on this government to do something. I am not a fan of a government that expects industry alone to achieve one of its political objectives." However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport replied: "There are no plans here for a campaign and there is no campaign for digital terrestrial television either." UBC, formerly the Unique Broadcasting Group, is one of the main players in digital radio. It’s a format that promises a lot but which is taking off very slowly – with most digital only stations relying on Sky Digital and internet audiences to exist. But Cole is confident the medium will gain a higher profile when special digital radio sets that cost £99 appear in shops later this year.