The Development of Digital Audio Broadcasting in Croatia: The Case of DAB+

Croatian FM radio broadcasting has a long and rich tradition. The Radio Digitisation Project was announced in 2010, but the first commercial DAB licenses were granted in 2022. Only 0.8% of the population own a home DAB+ device and only 7.7% of cars can retrieve the DAB+ program. Is DAB a good solution for the Croatian radio landscape dominated by local radio stations? This pioneering work in Croatian science shows the non-competitiveness of the conditions for broadcasters to enter the DAB+ network, the lack of support from key stakeholders, and ultimately the absence of conditions for shutting down FM radio.