In preparation for the upcoming Radio and Digital Sound Broadcasting Summit, set to take place on June 18-19, 2024, at The Venue Green Park in Johannesburg, South Africa, Broadcast Media Africa has a conversation with Karel Verhoef, CEO of Radio Pulpit.
During our conversation, Mr Verhoef noted that radio is still the most popular way of consuming media in Africa. Radio is inexpensive to produce and broadcast, making it accessible to a wide audience.
Below is an excerpt from the conversation:
BMA: What influenced your decision to agree to participate in the Radio And Digital Sound Broadcasting Summit- Africa 2024?
Karel: I have facilitated the founding and training of various African radio stations during my involvement with UCB Africa.
I am also a board member of the DRM-SA platform (Digital Radio Mondiale) and participated in the first successful DRM test trials in SA, which were pioneered by Radio Pulpit. At the previous BMA summit in 2023, I participated in the DRM-SA presentation. So, I am privileged to participate again at the 2024 BMA summit.
BMA: How do you see Radio and Sound Broadcasting evolving in today’s fragmented digital media ecosystem? What can industry practitioners look out for?
Karel: Radio is still the most popular way of consuming media in Africa and will continue for at least a decade or two.
Although digital media is fragmented in nature, it is fast evolving into a user-friendly one-stop media platform that integrates all scattered options.
With the rise of AI and the ever-evolving algorithms, Radio and Sound Broadcasting can benefit significantly by embracing this value-added feature to quality content.
BMA: What is the biggest challenge(s) facing the successful implementation of Digital Radio and Sound Broadcasting services within Africa?
Karel: The biggest challenges for the successful implementation of Digital Radio and Sound Broadcasting services in Africa are the affordability of data, devices and economies of scale to stimulate market take-up and rollout of new digital networks and initiatives.
BMA: With all said, kindly tell us what you hope fellow participants will take away from this industry summit?
Karel: I hope that participants will be stimulated to embrace the digital future that is already very much alive worldwide and will find solutions to implementing macro and micro challenges for the implementation of various options in their respective broadcasting environments.
Join Mr Karel Verhoef and other industry leaders at this much-anticipated event. Visit the event website to register here.
