The BBC Latin American Service and Ecuador’s leading daily, El Universo, have launched a joint FM station in Guayaquil called Radiocity 89.3 FM. The station will rebroadcast via satellite 12 hours a day of the BBC Latin American Service programming.
Radiocity 89.3 FM is the result of a close collaboration between the BBC and El Universo which started with a contents exchange agreement between their online sites, bbcmundo.com and eluniverso.com The collaboration was further extended to radio as the BBC Latin American Service provided the budding station with training in journalism and programme making. Under this latest partnership, the BBC will be Radiocity’s exclusive provider of international news and current affairs programmes. The BBC will also bring a wide variety of music, science and entertainment.
And BBC World Service has begun transmitting on FM in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates capital and plans to launch a second FM frequency in the UAE in Dubai, one of the Middle East’s major business centres, this summer. The new 24-hour FM frequency in Abu Dhabi, on 90.3 MHz, is the fifth new FM frequency to be launched by BBC World Service in the Middle East since March. Last month BBC World Service announced it had begun FM broadcasts in Arabic and English in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad, Basrah and Al-Amarah.
Around the world BBC World Service is now present in FM in 140 capital cities.