DAB thriving on Isle of Man

Ownership of a DAB Digital Radio set has reached 40 per cent on the Isle of Man, even though none of the major commercial stations on the Island are broadcasting on the platform.

During the third Quarter of 2009 the number of DAB sets on the Island grew to 13,460 - up 350 per cent in a year.

Listenership to DAB only radio stations also grew considerably over the same period, with over 1,000 more people, aged 15+, listening to DAB broadcasts.

And almost 6 per cent of the Manx population tuned in to the BBC’s DAB only stations 6 Music, Five Live Sports Extra, 1Xtra from the BBC and BBC Radio 7, during the quarter.

BBC stations have only been available via DAB on the Island for less than two years since the corporation turned on the broadcasts in December 2007. Commercial stations Manx Radio, 3FM and Energy FM are not on the platform as yet.

But the lack of DAB signal is not causing any problems for the broadcasters, especially Manx Radio, which has just achieved the highest reach of any radio station in the British Isles - a whopping 54 per cent.

The number of households in the UK with a DAB set is currently 33 per cent. 3FM also posted record listening figures of 33 per cent weekly reach.