Re: [Swprograms] World News Blog - Sigh of relief at the Department for International Development - cry of anguish at the Foreign Office.

[Mike Barraclough <softbulletin1@xxxxxxxxx>]

>If I remember correctly, back in the good old days of Goon Shows, live "silly" 
>football matches, and >Ted Heath music, the foreign office did not fund BBCWS.  
>It all came from the license fee.  It was >pressure from license fee payers who 
>forced the foreign office to pick up the tab.

Prior to the setting up of the Arabic and Spanish-Portuguese service the Empire 
service was partially aimed at the diaspora.

Quoting from Arab Voices, the history of the BBC Arabic service by Peter Partner 
when foreign language broadcasting was set up in January 1938:

"no special payment was to be made to the Corporation by the exchequer for 
broadcasting in foreign languages but any representations for financial 
assistance were to be submitted on the basis of the existing agreement and would 
be considered by the Treasury and the Post Office on their merits. Of course the 
Kingsley Wood Committee's report to the Cabinet neglected to say that the 
Treasury and Post Office would have to turn to the Foreign Office for advice on 
the BBC's requests.

It was in one respect a disdvantageous arrangement for the BBC, which failed to 
secure a permanent Government commitment for the new service. On the other hand 
some of the ambiguities of the financial situation could be used to the 
advantage of the Corporation.

The Foreign Office did not become directly responsible for adminstering  the 
grant-in-aids to the BBC foreign broadcasting services until 1977;  only after 
that date did some of the illogicalities of the financial  arrangements become 
fully evident."

>Today BBCWS is on MW 648 kHz and I am told it has quite a domestic following 
>around SE UK.  I >heard it quite well recently in Germany, Holland and Belgium 
>on the coast in the daylight. 
>

That's because it's on a tight 130 degrees directional beam from Orford Ness on 
the Suffolk coast. 648 did get decent coverage of SE UK off the back of the 
beam, helped by the low frequency. However I would guess many like me are now 
getting problems because of increasing urban noise level affecting the signal. 
You can get BBC World Service on DAB and digital television. It's relayed 
overnight on Radio 4 from 1 a.m. to 5.30 a.m.

Last RAJAR figures showed a weekly domestic reach of 1.285 million, 2%. They 
listen for an average of 4.7 hours a week giving it a 0.6% share of listening.

I'd be interested to know if RAJAR counts the overnight Radio 4 listening as for 
World Service or for Radio 4. 



Some comments in the press about the implications of the new agreement for the 
World Service:

What Now for BBC World Service, Neil Midgley, Daily Telegraph:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/neilmidgley/100008247/what-now-for-bbc-world-service/


BBC World Service considers hosting ads on some foreign language websites, Josh 
Halliday, Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/21/bbc-world-service-advertising

Mike


      

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