One of London’s original digital-only radio stations Passion for the Planet, which launched in 2002, has ceased transmission on the London 3 DAB multiplex.
The station says the poor state of the DAB signal on the London III multiplex, along with squabbling within the industry has lead to the decision.
“DAB is a great medium for radio but squabbling within the industry and a lack of clarity and direction from Ofcom leaves us worried that radio may well have missed a great opportunity” said Managing Director Chantal Cooke.
“I believe London has too many stations, and the signal on the London 3 multiplex has always been, and continues to be, very poor. The lack of a robust signal has hampered independent services from the start, yet neither the mux operators nor Ofcom has taken the problem seriously. Passion for the Planet has spent a small fortune broadcasting on London 3 because we believed in the platform, but while there are still so many issues to be rectified, further investment in DAB in London has become increasingly difficult to support” explained Cooke.
The station will continue to stream online, and on regional DAB muxs in Peterborough, Bristol, Devon and Essex.
“While Ofcom has allowed the capital to be swamped, the regions are under-served. Historically our regional stations have accounted for the vast majority of our audience, so we’re keen to continue on DAB in these areas” explains Cooke.