Category: World Service

Date: 11.07.2006
Printable version

BBC World Service has enhanced its reputation as the world's leading international broadcaster throughout a "year of change, achievement and innovation", according to its 2005/2006 Annual Review issued today.

 

Independent research evidence published in the Review indicates that BBC World Service's reputation for trust and objectivity is higher than for any other international broadcasters in virtually all markets surveyed - including Indonesia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and USA.

 

BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman writes in the Annual Review: "It was a year of major achievements and innovation: a record-breaking audience figure; a step change in our interactive services; and the biggest strategic shift in priorities in BBC World Service's 70-year history.

 

"These welcome developments took placed against a backdrop of ever more rapid technological change and the emergence of powerful and often divisive global forces."

 

He added: "It is particularly pleasing to see how our programmes command the highest scores for reputation, trust, and objectivity in most markets when compared to our international competitors."

 

The Review highlights:

 

Audiences

• The new weekly audience figure of 163 million, compiled from independent surveys around the globe, is an increase of 14 million on last year's figure of 149 million.
  
  This new figure smashes the previous BBC World Service record audience of 153 million in 2001. The new figure equates to around 50 per cent more listeners than any comparable international broadcaster.

 

• BBC World Service is now available on high quality FM sound in a record 150 capital cities out of a total of around 190 - up from 145 last year. This higher quality of audibility is vital to retain audiences.

 

New Media

• Online audiences to the BBC's international facing news sites have also shown significant rises.
  
  The sites attracted around 500 million page impressions a month in March 2006 compared to 324 million page impressions in March 2005.
  
  This is a rise of over 50 per cent over the year. The site now attracts around 33 million unique users each month; up from around 21 million unique users a year ago.

 

Finance

• BBC World Service achieved efficiency savings of £7.1m in 2005/06.

 

Notes to Editors

• The BBC World Service Annual Review is available online at bbc.co.uk/worldservice/us/annual_review

 

• The BBC World Service's global audience figures over recent years were: 120 million in 1992, 124m (1993), 130m (1994), 133m (1995), 140m (1996), 143m (1997), 138m (1998), 143m (1999), 151m (2000), 153m (2001), 150m (2002), 150m (2003), 146m (2004) and 149m (2005).

 

• BBC World Service is funded through Grant-in-Aid from the Foreign Office. The grant for 2005/06 was £239m. The grant for 2006/07 is £245m.

 

• The BBC World Service broadcasts in 33 languages including English.
  
  The other languages are: Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Burmese, Caribbean-English, Cantonese, French for Africa, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mandarin, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese for Brazil, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, and Vietnamese.

 

• BBC World Service ceased broadcasting in 10 BBC language services (Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene, and Thai) due to reprioritisation in 2005/06.

 

• In the UK, World Service in English is available on 648 MW in south eastern England. In addition, overnight on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Ulster and via digital radio, digital satellite and the internet.
  
  The English Network can be heard on the BBC's digital multiplex in the UK, Freeview digital channel 710 or in Europe on the Astra satellite, channel 0115.

 

• Outside the UK, BBC World Service is available on short wave; on FM in 150 capital cities; and selected programmes are carried on over 1,000 FM and MW radio stations around the world.

 

• High quality reception of World Service programmes is available via satellite in Europe and North America.

 

• The BBC World Service website - bbc.co.uk/worldservice - contains extensive, interactive news services available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, Portuguese for Brazil, Russian, Spanish and Urdu with audiostreaming available in 33 languages.
  
  It also contains detailed information about World Service broadcasts, schedules and frequencies in all languages.

 

BBC World Service

 

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