SRG receives two new digital radio channels

 On Wednesday, the Federal Council granted the SRG a license for two new digital radio stations. DRS 4 News and World Radio Switzerland (WRS) will go on air in November 2007. According to an SRG press release, the Federal Council wanted to recognize the population's growing need for up-to-date news and the interest of foreigners in Switzerland in an English-language station. The two channels are also a contribution to the development and distribution of Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) in Switzerland. DRS 4 News is an information program aimed at the German-speaking Swiss. It will be available via DAB, cable, satellite and the Internet. The station will broadcast information on politics, business, the stock market, sport, culture, science, IT, media and education every half hour. There is also a short summary of the news situation every quarter of an hour. The concept includes live reports. According to a press release, Radio DRS finances DRS 4 News from its own resources.
World Radio Switzerland replaces World Radio Geneva, which currently offers an English-language program for the international audience in Switzerland. The new English-language station is intended to promote the integration of the international communities in Switzerland and their contact with each other by providing service information. The partnership between World Radio Geneva and the BBC is to be continued. WRS is a collaboration between the four regional language radio stations and Swissinfo and is part of the SRG service.