NORWAY: "Yes to radio!" But no to DAB?

In July 2010, a marketing campaign was launched in Norway with the tagline “Yes to radio!” It used 18 celebrities to promote awareness of DAB radio through advertisements in radio, TV, newspapers and social media. The campaign was funded by Digitalradio Norge AS, the lobby group (owned by broadcasters NRK, P4 and SBS) working for a transition from FM to DAB radio in Norway.
Dagsavisen newspaper commented: “For many years, the major radio companies have attempted to get Norwegians to replace FM radios with digital ones. It has been slow work so far. During the last decade, about 8 million radio sets were sold. Of these, between 300,000 and 400,000 were digital radios, according to figures from the Electronics Industry.”

Rainer Frost of Radio Nero commented: “’Yes to radio!’ is totally misleading. It gives the impression that the entire radio industry is behind the campaign. In reality, it is only the major players who broadcast on DAB and who are engaged in fierce lobbying. They want to impact public opinion in connection with the white paper on the future of radio published by the Ministry of Culture this autumn. This campaign is the latest initiative from the embattled NRK, P4 and SBS in an attempt to gain support for the Norwegian DAB project, which has been running for 29 years.”

Andreas Reitan, chairman of the Norwegian Association of Local Radio (Norsk Lokalradioforbund), said: “The Association has not taken a formal position but, as chairman, I am sceptical of the campaign. I am somewhat surprised. I understand the criticisms. The key question for us is the cost issue. The majority of our members are small stations. They have said ‘no’ to digital because of their finances. None of the small stations have the funds to finance a digital radio launch.”

Per Morten Hoff, general secretary of of IKT-Norge, said: “It’s a vague attempt at lobbying from NRK, P4 and SBS in anticipation of the white paper, it wants people to say ‘yes’ to radio, without saying what it is all about. It is trying to lead the audience towards the light.”

Kristian Aartun, chairman of Radio 3, said: “We believe the campaign is misleading as it is not clear what the ‘yes to radio!’ really means. In our opinion, this is deliberate deception to further their own interests, not the radio industry’s or society’s interest.”

Rainer Frost again: “Digital radio’s future as a whole is in the balance. The biggest problem is the costs associated with the DAB radio network. A new DAB network for local radio would have to be financed by us. That is something we cannot afford. The DAB network will not be built. A decision on digital switchover has not been taken. The money is not there. People increasingly prefer FM radio over DAB at home. But this campaign argues, however, that everything will be fine with DAB. The reality is much more complicated than that.”

Ole Jørgen Torvmark, head of Digitalradio Norge, responded to criticisms of its campaign: “[We] believe it is important for all parties concerned to put in place a clear plan for the transition to digital radio, particularly for listeners who buy new radio receivers. Such a plan, which we believe will be 6 to 7 years, must lead to the shutdown of analogue radio broadcasts, perhaps with exceptions for smaller stations in the least populated areas, such as in the UK.”

Online news source Nettavisen commented: “IKT-Norge has been one of the strongest critics of the DAB initiative in Norway. They believe that Norway is now struggling to implement DAB, because NRK [the state broadcaster] has invested too much money in an outdated technology that more and more European countries are walking away from.”

Per Morten Hoff, general secretary of IKT-Norge, added: “NRK refuses to state how much money they have spent on DAB but, based on figures from Sweden, I have assumed that they have spent around 400 million [krone] on that system in Norway.”

Writing in daily newspaper Dagbladet, one commentator said:

“Does this summer’s ‘Yes to radio!’ campaign, organised by lobbying group Digitalradio Norge, really want us to believe that anything other than a wholehearted embrace of digital radio is a kind of betrayal of radio? And that a ‘no’ to the introduction of DAB technology and the closure of FM networks is also a ‘no’ to all the voices, moments, images and insight that radio gives us?

Dear Digitalradio Norge and the owners of NRK, P4, Radio 1, The Voice and Radio Norge. Do not insult us. We love radio. We say ‘yes’ to radio. It is DAB that we are lukewarm to.

Yes, we know that digital radio also includes internet radio and radio delivered by digital TV, but the political battle is about the closure of FM radio and DAB. Fifteen years after trial broadcasts began, more than ten times as many FM radios are still sold as DAB radios. There are probably between 20m and 25m FM radio receivers in Norwegian homes, compared to a few hundred thousand DAB receivers.”

[with thanks to Eivind Engberg]