Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08 - Foreign Affairs Committee Contents


Note to the Committee from BBC World Service on BBC World Service in Afghanistan

RADIO

  The BBC broadcasts programming in Persian (Dari) and in Pashto specially tailored for Afghanistan. It is delivered on a mixture of SW, MW and FM.

  A central plank of the BBC's recent strategy has been to increase its FM presence in the country. This expansion—with 19 FM relays now in operation and four more on the way—has occurred as other international broadcasters have also moved to secure their position in the evolving media environment, the most significant competition here being the co-ordinated offer from VOA/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Performance data show the BBC remains in a strong position, with awareness almost universal, trust ratings exceptionally high and the weekly radio reach standing at 59%.

  A framework for all the radio output is provided by a new FM schedule that runs from 0500 to midnight local time, with the remainder of the 24 hours filled by WS English programmes.

  In each language, Dari and Pashto, the schedule contains:

    —  two hours of prime news and current affairs;

    —  one hour of features;

    —  two hours of development-focused programming—such as educational drama and Afghan Woman's Hour—provided by the World Service Trust (see World Service Trust section below); and

    —  music programmes at off-peak listening times.

  Also in the schedule are:

    —  30 minutes in Uzbek; and

    —  one hour of BBC Persian's (Farsi) flagship news programme designed primarily for Iran.

  In June a new 30 minute programme in Pashto was launched for southern Afghanistan and the Pakistan border areas (see paragraph on Stabilisation Aid Fund below).

  There are currently 19 BBC FM relays broadcasting a 24 hour mix of Dari, Pashto, Uzbek Farsi and English programming: Kabul (x2), Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Bamian, Konduz, Faizabad (currently off air), Pol-e Khomri, Heart, Gardez, Jabal us-Seraj, Sheberghan, Maimana, Taloqan, Khost, Ghazni, Kandahar, Kunar, and Helmand. A further FM is currently under construction in Farah and relays are planned for Tarin Kowt, Qalat and Sharan (directly funded by the Stabilisation Aid Fund/GCPP—see below).

  In Kabul a 24-hour English relay is maintained, BBC 101.6FM.

PERFORMANCE

  The BBC has a large audience in Afghanistan, reaching about 10 million listeners (59% of the adult population) weekly in any language. 42% of the population listen to the BBC in Persian/Dari and 29% in Pashto.

  Short wave delivers the most listeners nationally. However, this varies geographically—in Kabul, for instance, over 80% of the BBC audience listen via FM.

  The BBC has a very strong brand in Afghanistan—85% of adults are aware of BBC radio and 73% have listened to it.

  Of the stations measured, including domestic stations, the BBC is the most listened-to.

TELEVISION

  BBC World News is available in a growing number of urban homes and other outlets, but English is not widespread and World News is likely to remain a niche service.

  BBC World Service will launch a Persian television service to Iran later in 2008 which will also reach Afghanistan.

ONLINE

  Sites are maintained in Pashto and Dari, but internet availability and connectivity remain low.

STABILISATION AID FUND PROJECT FOR AFGHANISTAN

  The Stabilisation Aid Fund (formerly Global Conflict Prevention Pool) is directly funding a World Service project to broaden existing reach and increase impact of BBC programming in southern Afghanistan and tribal border areas of Pakistan. The project will run until the end of March 2011 and consists of two distinct work streams:

1.  Bespoke programming:

  Development and broadcast of a daily 30 minute programme directly targeted at the predominantly Pashtun population in southern Afghanistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (FATA).

  The daily regionally-focused programme, which went on air in June 2008, complements the existing national and internationally-based Afghan output and consists of:

    —  a news bulletin;

    —  news and current affairs packages focussing on the Pashto-speaking southern and frontier areas, dealing with issues related to security, reconstruction and politics;

    —  social and cultural features addressing realities of life in the region; and

    —  moderated interactive segments.

2.  FM expansion:

  Provision of 3 BBC 24 hour FMs in the urban areas of Tarin Kowt, Qalat and Sharan. The new FMs should be on-air in September and October this year.

  The expansion in FM coverage in these three provinces will increase BBC presence in the South and give an important distribution outlet for the new programme.

BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST

  The World Service Trust's Afghan Education Project (AEP) is the largest media-for-development organisation in Afghanistan. Its programmes are broadcast in Dari and Pashto on the BBC, and re-broadcast on local FM stations and the state-run Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA). Donors include the UK government's Afghan Drugs Inter-Departmental Unit (ADIDU) and the Stabilisation Aid Fund (SAF)/Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). Recent research indicates that more than 14 million people listen to AEP's flagship radio programme, New Home New Life, nearly 15 years after its launch. AEP is also currently developing an urban radio drama for Afghan youth with funding from SAF/GCPP.

  Afghan Woman's Hour provides topical programming for women in rural Afghanistan. Almost half of the potential audience have listened to the programme since its launch in 2005. A journalism training programme for Afghan women is being stepped up during 2008, and two training managers have been recruited.

22 July 2008





 
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