Further written evidence submitted by
the BBC World Service
BBC NEPALI SERVICE
The BBC Nepali Service is in no way affected
by the changes announced by the World Service last week.
There has, however, been a different concern
this year with regards to the Nepali Service, in that following
the re-assumption of executive power by King Gyanendra in February,
the Government of Nepal promulgated an ordinance barring FM stations
from broadcasting news.
This has affected all the private radio stations
which used to re-broadcast BBC Nepali programmes on their frequencies
(though recently some of these have defied the Government by carrying
BBC WS regardless), and the Nepalese Supreme Court is to decide
on the question of the constitutionality of the ordinance soon.
BBC Nepali language output also used to be broadcast
from the state-run Radio Nepal, as part of a 24-hour stream of
BBC World Service, which transmitted our English language programming
during the parts of the day in which the Nepali Service does not
broadcast. World Service English language programmes are still
being re-broadcast by Radio Nepal, with some interruptions during
news bulletins, but Nepali language programming is no longer re-broadcast.
It is worth noting, though, that audience measurement
undertaken in Nepal at the end 2004 (before the ban was introduced)
indicated that the vast majority of listeners to the Nepali Service
(719,000 out of 759,000) tune in to our shortwave broadcasts,
which are and have not been affected by the ordinance. Furthermore,
the reduced availability of news from domestic Nepali radio stations
may have increased listeners' reliance on shortwave broadcasts.
The Nepali Service remains very important to
the World Service, as well as its listeners, and will not suffer
in any way as a result of the current changes being made to other
services.
1 November 2005
| 
