Katherine Rushton: "The BBC is preparing to drop some of its international radio services in line with an expected cut to the World Service budget.
The World Service is funded through a 'grant in aid' from the Foreign Office rather than the BBC licence fee, and is therefore subject to cuts in line with the reduction in national spending. The service’s £272m annual budget is currently due for renewal in 2011. Peter Horrocks, director of Global News and the World Service, acknowledged the risk that it may have to axe entire services, in an echo of the 2005 closure of 10 foreign-language services, which cost more than 200 jobs. ... Horrocks also urged the government to set out the World Service’s budgetary position. 'We haven’t been given any figures by the new government, but we want clarity as soon as possible… many people are anxious and have been for some time,' he told the BBC’s in-house newspaper, Ariel." (Broadcast June 3, 2010 via Kim Elliott)
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BBC World Service estimate 141 million weekly audience, up 3 million despite shortwave loss of 20 million
"The BBC attracts a record weekly global audience of 241 million people to its international news services like BBC World Service and the BBC World News television channel, according to independent surveys. This is up three million on last year's overall audience estimate. However, the multimedia BBC World Service lost 20 million short wave radio listeners during the year; reflecting the increasing global decline of the medium. ... BBC World Service drew an overall weekly multimedia audience of 180 million across television, radio, online and mobiles. This is eight million down on last year. The audience losses were mainly due to a sharp overall decline in short wave radio listening during the year. Radio audience losses were particularly dramatic in Bangladesh (-7 million), India (-8.2m), and Nigeria (-2.9 m). However, there were significant radio audience gains in Tanzania (+1.4m), and the US (+ 600,000), mainly through BBC programmes being used on local FM and medium wave radio partner stations." Also: 3.4 million for VOA Perian; BBC World News, 71 million; international BBC.com, 17.2 million.
Financial Times, 24 May 2010, Ben Fenton: "'Where people have access to our programmes on FM, they shift to that platform and they no longer use shortwave,' [BBC Global News director Peter] Horrocks said. 'There is a powerful symbolism about universal availability, but if people haven’t got the [shortwave] sets and they aren’t listening, keeping it going for its own sake, for metaphysical reasons, doesn’t make a lot of sense.' In his first interview since taking over as the BBC’s global news director, Mr Horrocks said that countries such as Burma and Somalia, where there was no prospect of a substitute for shortwave, would remain covered 'for the foreseeable future'. But in the next five years, other shortwave services were likely to be phased out, he said, although no final decisions on which have been made because future funding is unclear."
(Kim Elliott)
Previous post:
BBC World Service estimate 141 million weekly audience, up 3 million despite shortwave loss of 20 million
"The BBC attracts a record weekly global audience of 241 million people to its international news services like BBC World Service and the BBC World News television channel, according to independent surveys. This is up three million on last year's overall audience estimate. However, the multimedia BBC World Service lost 20 million short wave radio listeners during the year; reflecting the increasing global decline of the medium. ... BBC World Service drew an overall weekly multimedia audience of 180 million across television, radio, online and mobiles. This is eight million down on last year. The audience losses were mainly due to a sharp overall decline in short wave radio listening during the year. Radio audience losses were particularly dramatic in Bangladesh (-7 million), India (-8.2m), and Nigeria (-2.9 m). However, there were significant radio audience gains in Tanzania (+1.4m), and the US (+ 600,000), mainly through BBC programmes being used on local FM and medium wave radio partner stations." Also: 3.4 million for VOA Perian; BBC World News, 71 million; international BBC.com, 17.2 million.
Financial Times, 24 May 2010, Ben Fenton: "'Where people have access to our programmes on FM, they shift to that platform and they no longer use shortwave,' [BBC Global News director Peter] Horrocks said. 'There is a powerful symbolism about universal availability, but if people haven’t got the [shortwave] sets and they aren’t listening, keeping it going for its own sake, for metaphysical reasons, doesn’t make a lot of sense.' In his first interview since taking over as the BBC’s global news director, Mr Horrocks said that countries such as Burma and Somalia, where there was no prospect of a substitute for shortwave, would remain covered 'for the foreseeable future'. But in the next five years, other shortwave services were likely to be phased out, he said, although no final decisions on which have been made because future funding is unclear."
(Kim Elliott)
