Category: World Service
Date: 25.10.2005
Printable version
Notes to Editors
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The 大象传媒 World Service's global audience in 2005 is 149 million per week;
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Monthly page impressions to the 大象传媒's international news site, including bbcnews.com, is 350 million. This equates to more than 20 million unique users;
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大象传媒 World Service is funded through Grant-in-Aid from the Foreign Office. The grant for 2005/6 is 拢239m;
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The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the level of funding for the 大象传媒 World Service for the period from 2005 to 2008 during his public Spending Review announcement of July 2004.
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The review confirmed that 大象传媒 World Service would retain the extra funds awarded to it in the 2002 Spending Review. This consists of an extra 拢14m for 2005/06.
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大象传媒 World Service would also receive 拢6.5m extra funds for each of 2006/07 and 2007/08, taking its overall funding level to 拢252m by 2007/08.
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The settlement gives 大象传媒 World Service an average annual increase of RPI (2.5%) + 1.5%;
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The level of funding for future years is as follows:
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| 听 |
2004/5 |
2005/6 |
2006/7 |
2007/8 |
| Revenue |
194.1 |
208.1 |
214.6 |
221.1 |
| Capital |
31.0 |
31.0 |
31.0 |
31.0 |
| Total |
225.1 |
239.1 |
245.6 |
252.1 |
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The 大象传媒 World Service broadcasts in 43 languages including English. The other languages are: Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Caribbean-English, Cantonese, Croatian, Czech, French for Africa, Greek, Hausa, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Kazakh, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mandarin, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese for Africa, Portuguese for Brazil, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovene, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek and Vietnamese;
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In the UK, World Service in English is available on 648 MW in south eastern England. In addition, overnight on 大象传媒 Radio 4, 大象传媒 Radio Wales and 大象传媒 Radio Ulster and via digital radio, digital satellite and the internet. The English Network can be heard on the 大象传媒's digital multiplex in the UK, Freeview digital channel 80, or in Europe on the Astra satellite, channel 865;
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Outside the UK, 大象传媒 World Service is available on short wave; on FM in 147 capital cities; and selected programmes are carried on almost 2,000 FM and MW radio stations around the world;
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High quality reception of World Service programmes is available via satellite in Europe and North America;
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The 大象传媒 World Service website - www.bbcworldservice.com - contains extensive, interactive news services available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, Portuguese for Brazil, Russian, Spanish and Urdu with audiostreaming available in all 43 languages.
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It also contains detailed information about World Service broadcasts, schedules and frequencies in all languages and links to other international news sites including bbcnews.com.
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ACAS agreement
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Earlier this summer, the 大象传媒 reached an agreement with the unions, under the auspices of ACAS, which laid out the terms by which staff could be made compulsorily redundant.
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This includes a pledge that no-one would leave the 大象传媒 compulsorily until early December 2006 on the grounds of compulsory redundancy.
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Eligible staff would also receive the appropriate redundancy compensation under 大象传媒 policy of one month's salary for every year on the 大象传媒's staff.
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大象传媒 Arabic
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Apart from English, the 大象传媒 Arabic Service was the first, and therefore the oldest, of the World Service's 42 language services. It was launched on 1 January 1938.
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It is now the biggest service in terms of staff and budget. It draws its staff from a large number of countries, and has reporters in every Arabic-speaking country. It is a Service which attracts top commentators and contributors;
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Since 2001, it has broadcast 24 hours a day, with a mixture of news, analysis, features and English-language teaching.
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It is clear from media surveys in the Arab world that the 大象传媒's Arabic radio service is very popular - the leading international station in Arabic. In those countries that can be measured, we know that regular listeners exceed 12 million people a week;
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However, it faces strong competition from satellite television companies, especially in countries where FM broadcasting is not available to the 大象传媒 for its news output such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and North Africa;
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The World Service's Arabic Online Service, bbcarabic.com, is by far the leading Arabic news site on the web, with its 24 hour news and analysis presence; this was confirmed when the site won two years running the international accolade as Best Arabic News Site. The site attracts around 17 million page impressions each month.
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大象传媒's Green Paper response
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The changes follow debate during the UK Government's review of the 大象传媒's Charter.
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In the 大象传媒's response to the Government Green Paper on its future last March, the 大象传媒 World Service welcomed the opportunity:
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- to review its present portfolio of 43 language services with a view to significant change;
- to assess the potential value of vernacular television services;
- and to assess the degree to which 大象传媒 World Service would need to reprioritise grant-in-aid funding to fund new developments.
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The full 大象传媒 response to the Green Paper can be found through .
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