FM radio: Schleswig-Holstein to switch off in 2031

Schleswig-Holstein is the first federal state to bid farewell to analog terrestrial radio reception. The last FM frequencies will expire in 2031 – from then on, radio in the far north will only be available via DAB+, cable or IP-based. This was announced by the Hamburg-Schleswig-Holstein Media Authority.

This follows years of discussion about whether DAB+ and internet streaming could replace the previous FM radio broadcasting. The agreement that has now been reached provides for a gradual switchover: Deutschlandradio's three stations will switch from FM to purely digital broadcasting from mid-2025, while the private stations BOB!, Deltaradio and Antenne Sylt will switch in the same year. Norddeutscher Rundfunk will also gradually switch off its radio stations depending on the region. The last remaining FM user in Schleswig-Holstein would be the private broadcaster R.SH in 2031, when its license to use the frequency expires, making it the last FM wave to be received on the coast.

Last year, the first private stations in Schleswig-Holstein began broadcasting on DAB+. Poster campaigns and other channels are intended to inform citizens about the approaching end of the previous broadcasting channel. Additional transmitters are to ensure reception via DAB+, which, however, does not provide the same area coverage as traditional FM transmitters. Compared to FM broadcasting, which has been used in Germany since 1949, numerous programs can be broadcast digitally at the same time on comparatively small frequency spectrums.

DAB has been discussed for 30 years

The switchover from FM to DAB has been the subject of discussion for 30 years; the switch-off of all FM broadcasting at the end of 2015, which had been planned by law since 2004, was removed from the Telecommunications Act in 2012 due to a lack of realistic switchover scenarios. Since 2020, DAB+ receiver units must be installed in new cars with radio receivers – one of the main user groups of terrestrial broadcasting. DAB+-capable receivers are currently installed in 41 percent of cars. Although the number of remaining FM users cannot be precisely determined, the number of DAB-capable devices has risen continuously recently, according to studies, to 28.3 million receivers nationwide in 2023. In addition, there is the option of reception via mobile radio streaming, which with 5G should also serve as an alternative option to radio reception in a large state like Schleswig-Holstein, at least along the major transport axes.

Now that Schleswig-Holstein has announced its withdrawal from FM broadcasting, other federal states are likely to follow suit. Industry circles see the high costs of operating FM transmitter masts as one reason for the change. According to the Commission for the Determination of Financial Requirements for the years 2025 to 2029, ARD and Deutschlandradio alone have registered 220.9 million euros for FM broadcasting – money that the broadcasters have actually been hoping to save for years by switching to DAB+ nationwide. Without the public broadcasters, the operation of nationwide FM transmitters is considered economically unfeasible for private radio broadcasters.

(mma)