Re: [Swprograms] More on BBC A06 Skeds

["Richard Cuff" <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'll share what I know embedded below.

Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA

On 4/12/06, William Martin <wgmartin@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I've been hoping to see more user comments on what BBC
> programs we here in NA can now hear on SW. One thing
> I have found is that some of the BBC's website's info is just
> wrong. For example, the pages of "Programme Times", which
> I went to the trouble of printing out, do not seem to totally
> agree with what is on-air. Anyway, if you discover some decent
> reception of some of the feature programming that is reasonably
> receiviable here, please post your notes on what, where, & when.
>
> A couple things I've noted:
>
> >From Our Own Correspondent IS hearable here on 5975 kHz
> at 2206 UT on Saturdays. This is NOT on the "programme time"
> listing for FoOC.

I received information from Bush House which shows the FOOC time --
and included that in my April NASWA Journal column.  Glenn H
republished this information in DXLD.  My notes do show the 2206 UT
Saturdays time in the Caribbean release you're hearing.  I suggest you
e-mail the BBC with that error in the "programme times" listing.

>
> Charlie Gillett is usually listenable on 17640 kHz at 1332 UT Saturdays.
> (This *is* on the schedule.)
>
> Over To You has been readable (but not great) on 12095 kHz
> at 1741 UT Saturdays. (I suppose that this airing should be added to
> the DX Programs list to replace the former "Write On" entry.) I am
> anxious to hear if anyone in NA has heard this on other times and
> frequencies. A program comment: Even though they gave "Over
> To You" an extra 5 minutes compared with the former "Write On",
> they then waste at least that much time with constant repetition of
> the program name, phone number, and contact info. This was even
> mocked by a letter they read on last Saturday's edition, which jibed
> at the repetitive repetition heard on the first airing. Also, they
> waste the listeners' time by having recorded voices from the
> correspondents asking the question, instead of having in-studio
> personnel read them as was done on "Write On". This also makes
> some queries hard to understand due to accents, phone-line quality
> or noise, etc. In short, "Write On" was better even if shorter.
>
> (Also, in order to give that 5 minutes to "Over to You", "The Instant
> Guide" was shrunk from 15 to 10 minutes. Now, *that* program
> *could* give up several minutes by dropping the annoying musical
> bits that separated every paragraph, but I haven't heard it yet
> enough to tell if they did that or just omitted content.)
>
> For anyone's info, here's the link to the relay of BBC Worldservice
> via PRI:
>
> http://www.pri.org/media/programs/bbc_summer06.pdf
>
> It's terribly hard to read, and some of the entries are confusing,
> in that the times of duration don't agree with the program lengths
> (particularily "Outlook"). I'd sure like to learn what criteria they
> use in order to decide what to put on when, especially in the
> overnight hours. Far too much of that time is wasted on news
> when the FM relay audio quality should be used for arts and
> features. Just who makes that decision? Some committee of
> member-station program directors? The Illuminati?

When PRI created the overnight relay package, they wanted a news-heavy
service.  Originally this was a stream called the "All News" stream,
but it later morphed into a PRI-specific stream.  I am not sure
exactly who made that call.

By design, some of the program lengths in the PRI service differ from
what's offered in the main regional streams available via shortwave. 
Some of the Outlook programs, for example, are shortened to half an
hour instead of the 54 minutes.  Ditto "Business Brief", which is one
of the two long features that constitute the new "Business Daily"
program.

I believe Kevin Kelly's Public Radio Fan website,
http://www.publicradiofan.com, has the correct program listings and
timings for those FM stations that webcast.  You may find that a more
useful resource.

His listings also include the European and Americas streams, since
they're webcast.  Since the Caribbean service isn't webcast live, he
doesn't have the listings for the weekday programs that pre-empt the
Americas programming.

>
> 73, Will
>
>
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