Supplementary written evidence submitted
by the BBC World Service
REDUNDANCY FIGURES
The forecast figure given in the World Service's
written evidence of 236 job reductions in the language services,
due to language service closures and reprioritisation plans, is
unchanged.
This is made up of 127 posts in the UK and 91
overseas—as a result of language service closures, plus
18 posts due to other reprioritisation, such as the Portuguese
for Brazil Service concentrating on news bulletins and online.
As predicted in the earlier written evidence,
since these figures were announced on 25 October, further discussions
with staff and the Unions have taken place on the impact of the
restructuring on BBC News. This will mean there will be an extra
46 job cuts in BBC News.
Around 201 new jobs have been, or will be, created
by the new investment plans, mainly for the new Arabic TV channel,
but also in New Media and international offices.
BBC WORLD—FUNDING
STATUS AND
VIEWING FIGURES
BBC WORLD FUNDING
STATUS
BBC World, the BBC's commercial 24-hour news
and information television channel, launched in its present format
in 1995 and is funded by advertising and subscription. It is owned
and operated by BBC World Ltd, a subsidiary of BBC Commercial
Holdings Limited. In addition, BBC World forms part of the BBC's
Global News Division.
As is common with pan-regional news channels,
the BBC recognises that a substantial period of investment is
to be expected before a global news channel like BBC World reaches
profitability, and the channel is currently making losses. Its
business plan forecasts that it should reach break-even around
the end of the decade and BBC World is currently operating in
line with plan.
Investment in the channel is provided through
long-term loans at market rates of interest which will be repayable
once the channel reaches profitability. The loans are sourced
from other commercial profits of the BBC group and there is no
use of licence fee funding.
COMPARATIVE VIEW
FIGURES
The BBC World weekly viewership figure of around
60 million (actual 58.6 million) is compiled from multiple surveys
(specifically commissioned, syndicated and omnibus) across many
countries and overall competitor channel figures are not available
from these.
Regional syndicated surveys, commissioned by
a number of media owners and carried out by independent research
companies, do offer comparative figures, and listed below, are
recent comparative viewership statistics for weekly reach from
these surveys.
Western Europe (EMS 2005 study—chief income earner from top 20% of households—40 million)
BBC World
| 11.4% |
| CNN Int'l | 19.0% |
| Sky News | 14.2% |
Western Europe excluding UK/Ireland (EMS 2005 study—chief income earner from top 20% of households—33 million)
BBC World
| 11.4% |
| CNN Int'l | 19.5% |
| Sky News | 8.3% |
Asia-Pacific (PAX 11 market study—affluent adults and business decision-makers in 11 cities 13.5 million)
BBC World
| 9.5% |
| CNN Int'l | 17.6% |
| Sky News | 0% |
India (National peoplemeter panel—TAM—85 million people with TV covered by panel)
BBC World
| 3.7% |
| CNN Int'l | 1.7% |
| Sky News | 0% |
Latin America (TGI—136 million people aged 12+ half continent)
BBC World
| 1.0% |
| CNN Int'l | 3.3% |
| Sky News | 0% |
Middle East (five country omnibus survey 2003—6 million)
BBC World
| 7.9% |
| CNN Int'l | 14.4% |
| Sky News | 1.1% |
International air travellers (interviewed in 26 airports globally—travellers on scheduled int'l flights)
BBC World
| 18.3% |
| CNN Int'l | 22.5% |
| Sky News | 5.9% |
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UZBEKISTAN—FCO REPRESENTATIONS
TO THE
GOVERNMENT
The British Embassy in Tashkent made specific representations
in relation to the difficulties experienced by the BBC immediately
after the events in Andizhan on 12-13 May which led to the deaths
of hundreds of civilians, and at the time of Monica Whitlock's
departure in June 2005. The FCO kept in close and active touch
with the BBC in the period following Andizhan, both in Tashkent
and London.
The British Ambassador in Tashkent, David Moran, recently
reassured the head of the BBC Monitoring office, which remains
in Tashkent, that the FCO continue to consider the welfare of
remaining BBC Monitoring staff to be a high priority.
David Moran discussed the closure of the BBC World Service
office in Tashkent with Foreign Minister, Ganiev, on 3 November.
He has made regular representations on freedom of expression and
the treatment of local and international journalists with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs at ministerial and official level.
As far as BBC World Service is concerned, the Embassy has
been particularly helpful and supportive since the start of the
troubles.
NEPALI SERVICE
UPDATE
Since the previous note to the Committee on 1 November (and
the World Service's oral evidence session) on the Government of
Nepal's barring of FM stations to broadcast news, and its effect
on the BBC Nepali Service, there have been further developments.
Kathmandu FM rebroadcaster, Radio Sagarmatha, has had its
broadcasts suspended since 27 November 2005. This came after the
trailing of a BBC Nepali Service rebroadcast interview with Nepalese
Maoist party leader Prachanda, despite the Government ban on broadcasting
news on local stations.
Five Radio Sagarmatha staff were also arrested and equipment
confiscated. The staff were later released. BBC World Service
has expressed concern at this development. The country's Supreme
Court has now ordered the return of the equipment to Radio Sagarmatha.
However, away from Kathmandu, in Surkhet, an FM partner station
is now carrying BBC Nepali output.
Since the state of emergency, the BBC 24 hour relay via state
broadcaster, Radio Nepal, has only broadcast BBC programmes in
English, and not in Nepali. Between March and 1 September, censorship
of the English output of 15 minutes at the top of the hour, was
also apparent—the Radio Nepal engineers having been instructed
by the Ministry to play local classical music. From 1 September,
following discussions between BBC and RN, the music was cut down
from 15 to 6 minutes, covering only the news bulletins at the
top of the hour between 0600 and 2200 daily. All of the regular
current affairs programmes remain on the air, including all headlines
on the half hour. Radio Nepal are unable to object or take on
the Palace on this issue.
Shortwave broadcasts in English and Nepali remain unaffected.
2 December 2005
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