Culture secretary Tessa Jowell has ordered a review of digital radio to find out how the medium is fairing nearly four years after its launch. The medium has seen a much slower uptake that digital TV, though the number of digital radio listeners doubled to 150,000 over Christmas when cheaper sets went on sale.
Announcing the review Jowell said: "I will be asking the BBC and [new media regulator] OfCom to report on the progress of digital radio in the four years since the award of the first national digital radio multiplex. I want them to canvass the views of the holders of all multiplex or digital radio service licences. This will be an ideal opportunity to take stock - to measure performance to date and consider what more needs to be done in the future."
With a sense of optimism for the future of the medium she added: "The success of Christmas sales means that the debate has shifted. After long years of having more people broadcasting digital services than listening to them, there is at last a real sense that the market is moving."
Although uptake of digital radio has grown it is still tiny in comparison with the number of services available and the amount of money being spent on it. The long term success of the medium may depend on whether internet radio takes off as broadband services become more readily available.