2 July 2003
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.
2 July 2003
An English-language version of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official website is now available on the Internet, Russian Mayak radio reported. The link to the page is located at Putin’s Russian-language website at www.kremlin.ru.
2 July 2003
The BBC is underlining its commitment to DAB digital radio, with a major on-air promotional campaign for its complete portfolio of digital radio stations – 1Xtra, Five Live Sports Extra, 6 Music, BBC 7 and the Asian Network.
The five-week campaign, the first by the BBC to promote its family of digital radio services, incorporates TV, radio and online elements. The BBC also confirmed details of the upgrading of its digital radio transmitter network from 65 per cent to 85 per cent coverage of the UK population in 2004.
Jenny Abramsky, Director of BBC Radio & Music and Vice-Chair of the Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB) said “For the first time digital radio is on its way to becoming a mass market proposition, rather than the preserve of audio enthusiasts. For the BBC there is also the encouraging sign of digital converts being attracted by new stations, particularly those provided by the BBC.
27 June 2003
The director-general of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), Yosef Barel, has presented his restructuring plan to the IBA managing committee. Under the plan, the Foreign Service of Israel Radio will close. The plan has been necessitated by the government’s planned budget cut of 230m new Israeli shekels (about 52m US dollars) in the period through 2006. The plan will see 200 employees taking early retirement, saving 30m new Israeli shekels (just under 7m US dollars).
The IBA will also save 65m new Israeli shekels (14.7m US dollars) by merging or closing some of its networks.
27 June 2003
Jean-Paul Cluzel, chairman and director-general of Radio France Internationale, and Nigel Chapman, BBC World Service Deputy Director, launched a joint frequency in Budapest on Wednesday 11 June.
The Budapest frequency of 92.1 MHz FM will be shared by RFI and the BBC, with air time being shared equally between the two international broadcasters. RFI broadcasts in French (10 hours) and in German (2 hours), and the BBC in English and Hungarian. This is the first multilingual international radio in Hungary. In Germany the two international broadcasters are already operating this type of radio arrangement.
27 June 2003
The Voice of Nigeria (VON), the arm of Radio Nigeria directed at audiences outside the country, has started to broadcast in two of the nation’s main languages.
The VON, a state-run short wave radio, started operations in 1962. Ibo and Yoruba are two of the main languages spoken in the southern part of Nigeria. A VON official said. “The aim is to reach as many Nigerians outside the country as possible while not forgetting to export our culture, of which the local languages are part.” Yoruba is also spoken in nearby Benin, Togo as well as in Brazil, while Ibo is used in western part of Cameroon.
VON already broadcasts in English, French, Arabic, Swahili and Fulfude.
