Radio Luxembourg set to return

It launched the careers of Noel Edmonds, Peter Powell and David Jenson and now, 12 years after disappearing from the airwaves, the legendary Radio Luxembourg, self-proclaimed "station of the stars", is set to be revived.

RTL, a subsidiary of German media group Bertelsmann and Five shareholder that grew out of Radio Luxembourg, is considering resurrecting 'Luxy' by broadcasting it into the UK from overseas on a new radio transmission technique which enables cross-border digital broadcasts.

"We are considering relaunching a UK station from outside of the UK. It could be from Luxembourg, France, Germany, Finland - it depends where we can get a capacity of transmitter sites," said a spokesman.

"Whether it will be the 208 Radio Luxembourg formula, who knows? But it is something we're thinking about."

The digital radio format in operation in the UK relies on a network of local transmitters, but the new Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) format can transmit long distance and is currently being tested by the BBC and others.

RTL has decided to go ahead with DRM broadcasts in a bid to encourage manufacturers to build DRM radio sets, which it hopes will be in the shops in time for Christmas 2005.

RTL is already broadcasting via DRM from Luxembourg to France and begins broadcasting to Germany next year.

Julia Day

http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/story/0,12636,1364041,00.html

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