International Radio Festival to broadcast on the London 2 DAB multiplex

Switchdigital (London) Limited is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with the International Radio Festival to launch a pop-up digital radio service on its London DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) multiplex during the Olympics.

The London 2 multiplex will broadcast the International Radio Festival (IRF) from their base at the “House of Switzerland” (the official Swiss hospitality centre during the Games) across the city for three weeks from 20th July to 12th August. London 2 is London's largest DAB multiplex broadcasting a diverse range of radio stations across a coverage area encompassing more than 11 million people and this agreement marks the first time that Switchdigital have launched a pop-up radio service on its network.

Over the course of the broadcast the IRF will give listeners a taste of the very best of Swiss and British radio stations and presenters, featuring artists, bands, festivals, and nightlife brands. The festival will present a varied 24/7 on-air listening experience as unique as the 2012 Olympic Games itself, whilst also building an acoustic cultural bridge between the two nations’ long standing friendship.

Switchdigital London is a consortium of UTV Media (owners of talkSPORT and 13 regional radio stations), TIML Radio and the Carphone Warehouse. In February this year it was announced that Switchdigital had appointed VDL as its new transmission service provider from June 2012.

Switchdigital Director, Piers Collins, said: “London is the biggest and most dynamic local DAB market in the world with nearly four million radio listeners tuning in via DAB every week . As we enter into the second 12-year term of our licence, we are thrilled to be involved in this exciting project. The new multiplex will offer a wider range of opportunities for broadcasters - from traditional long term services to short pop up services such as IRF, and we will be announcing more new, innovative services coming on to the multiplex in the near future.”

Founders of the IRF, Miguel Alvarez & Darryl von Däniken, said: “We are really excited to be bringing Londoners a taste of Switzerland with special showcases of both Swiss and British music radio shows, festivals, bands, personalities, athletes and celebrities. We welcome the opportunity of being able to broadcast across London on DAB digital radio, allowing the International Radio Festival to carry on fulfilling its goal of celebrating the power of music radio.”

For more information - http://www.internationalradiofestival.com/