From January 1, RTL radio will no longer broadcast its long-wave signal from its transmitter center in Beidweiler, Luxembourg, the group's communications department told AFP on Sunday, confirming information from the specialized media Satellifacts.
RTL (group M6), which used the 234 kHz frequency, was the last major French station to use this historical mode of low-frequency broadcasting, introduced in the 1930s and capable of transmitting over very long distances (up to several hundred kilometers away).
The station will launch a communication device on Monday to accompany its listeners to other means of listening, in particular the FM band (frequency modulation), digital terrestrial radio DAB +, TV boxes or its mobile application, indicated its carrier. speak to AFP.
Energy savings
The measure, taken first for the sake of savings, should allow the group to reduce its electricity consumption by some 6,000 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, the equivalent of 3,000 people in France, he said.
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Radio Luxembourg (which became RTL in 1966) had launched its broadcast in 1933 from its transmitter in Luxembourg to escape French regulations, which at the time established a state monopoly on audiovisual.
Its competitors had cut their long-wave signal several years ago: France Inter in 2017, Europe 1 in 2019 and RMC in 2020.