At the end of 2008 - the RDS Forum Chairman Johnny Beerling and the RDS Forum Chief Executive Dietmar Kopitz met with several EBU Directors. They drew attention to the fact that RDS will remain important to FM broadcasters for at least another 10 - 15 years. As the RDS Forum has now mostly members from the industry, it is relatively easy to get support for innovative RDS features like RT+ in new receiver products. However, the industry needs confirmation from the broadcasters that the new RDS features will effectively be soon widely used and there is a critical market size to be met. Both, broadcasters and industry need to co-operate in the RDS Forum on this particular business objective. To achieve this, the RDS Forum needs more broadcasters to join the RDS Forum 2009/2010. This will be in their own interest. You will also become more reluctant about telling your listeners about switching-off FM. It is by far not dead yet and it also the RDS Forum that contributes to keeping FM alive for the next decade, well adapted to modern requirements like well using the Internet, also for RDS.
Johnny Beerling and Dietmar Kopitz elaborated a broad presentation looking at these particular problems, specifically from the broadcaster's point of view. Note also that Johnny Beerling was for long time at the helm of BBC Radio 1 and Dietmar Kopitz the Chief Engineer of the EBU for many years. Thus both RDS experts know very well, what they are talking about and their message should be seriously taken into consideration, if you are an FM broadcaster and would agree that you need the correctly implemented RDS features to support your listeners' interest.
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