Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Minutes of Evidence


Memorandum from BBC World Service

WORLD SERVICE'S AUDIENCE IN ZIMBABWE

  1.  During the Hearing with Joseph Winter, the Committee asked about audience research carried out by the World Service in Zimbabwe.

  2.  The last survey obtained by the World Service in Zimbabwe was in 1998. Although accurate at the time, it should be noted that it may not give a true picture of current listening habits. Clearly, the current situation precludes doing any qualitative research at the moment.

  3.  The survey produced the following findings:

    —  The weekly audience for BBC World Service was 51,000 adults (0.82%). The BBC was the leading international broadcaster in Zimbabwe.

    —  World Service listeners tended to be older, male, lived in an urban environment, were from higher socio-economic groups and spoke Shona as their "mother tongue". Peak radio listening occurred during meal times.

    —  Online development was slow in Zimbabwe, due to the cost for using the telecommunications infrastructure to access the internet.

  4.  BBC World Service can be heard in English via short wave across Zimbabwe round the clock—it is the main way of listening to the World Service in Zimbabwe.

BBC World Service

March 2003


 
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