Latest news on the rado scrappage scheme is that they’re calling it the “Radio Amnesty”. The name may have changed but you can still get discounts on new digital radios when you trade in an old analogue radio. The Radio Amnesty ads will be promoting the discount offers available from the likes of Comet, and John Lewis. The Radio Amnesty scheme will be getting on-air radio promotion with ads from Stephen Fry, Gaby Logan and Noddy Holder running on commercial radio stations and BBC Radio 2, Radio 4 and Radio 7. Demand for a new digital radio is going to be high. The scheme starts on the 22nd May, but click on the links above to see what’s on offer before it starts.
The Radio Amnesty offer includes discounts on digital radios from the big manufacturers Roberts, Sony, Alba, Bush, MagicBox, Panasonic, Philips, Proline, and Pure. Comet and John Lewis have signed up for the Radio Amnesty initiative, which ends on the 26th June. The traded in radios handed over during the radio amnesty will be checked over with the working models given to UNICEF and the Children’s Radio Foundation in Southern Africa. Any radios from the radio scrappage scheme that cannot be salvaged will be recyled and disposed of properly, making sure that the absolute minimum is sent to landfill.
This scheme is flawed from the outset. I went today (22nd May) the first day it was in operation to both John Lewis and Comet in Cambridge. JL are offering a very limited choice of radios I didn’t want (all the really cheap stuff they cannot sell) and Comet had no idea that they were even taking part in this. Some helpful briefing wouldn’t have gone amiss.
Does not include all models within the manufacturer’s DAB range, check with the retailer first
Until DAB sounds as good or better than FM (possibly by upgrading to DAB+), DAB coverage is solid (very patchy at present), and DAB radios are fitted as standard in cars, DAB penetration will not increase much further. Schemes such as this will not change matters. Fundemental problems already highlighted will have to be addressed.