SRG to restore FM radio broadcasts from mid-November

Swiss public broadcaster SRG will restart some FM radio transmitters from mid-November, giving listeners more time to switch to digital reception, SRF reported on Monday.

The first transmitters will reach about 80 per cent of the population. The Federal Office of Communications has granted SRG the required broadcasting licence, which became legally binding after the appeal period ended.

The return to FM follows new political conditions and requests from some listeners. It will allow people across all of Switzerland’s language regions to receive SRG stations on analogue radios again, at home or on the move. The broadcasts will include the main channels, cultural stations from SRF, RTS and RSI, and regional journals in German-speaking Switzerland.

Restarting FM will cost about 6.5 million Swiss francs a year. SRG must accommodate the expense within the federal government’s ongoing savings programme. Full FM coverage previously cost about 15 million francs annually. The broadcaster will decide on any further expansion after reviewing listener use and operational and financial conditions.