2 Performance in 2008-09
6. In 2007-08 the World Service's performance
measures were based on audience size, reach and awareness. They
intended to support the World Service's agreed objective to be
the "best known and most respected voice in international
radio and online broadcasting".[6]
7. The 2008-09 Annual Review set out a new set
of agreed objectives for the current Comprehensive Spending Review
(CSR) period (2008-11). These are:
- to maintain radio audience
levels in an increasingly competitive market, and to increase
the audience overall through the newly-launched television service
in Arabic;
- to increase impact for the BBC in the Middle
East by extending the Arabic television service to a full 24-hour
offer; and,
- to launch a BBC Persian television service, to
reach audiences in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
8. In support of these objectives, a number of
new targets were agreed with the FCO for financial year 2008-09.
The first two relate to TV and radio audiences and multimedia
audiences. The second two relate specifically to the BBC Arabic
and BBC Persian Services. [7]
The first two are considered in the paragraphs which follow.
Targets relating to the BBC Arabic and BBC Persian services are
considered in more detail in chapters three and four below.
Global audience
9. The first target for 2008-09 was to reach
an estimated global audience on radio and/or television of at
least 190 million adults a week. The overall audience reach figures
for 2008-09 fell slightly below this target at 185 million. However,
the World Service states that this figure does not include any
audiences for BBC Persian television, which was included in the
original target, but not then counted as that service was launched
later than originally anticipated.[8]
Online figures also are not included, as the FCO agreed target
is for radio and television only.
10. There were 177 million radio listeners in
2008-09. Decreases in the number of listeners were noted in Nigeria,
Kenya and Pakistan (where there was a general decline in short-wave
users). Nevertheless, short-wave radio remains a key method of
delivery in less developed parts of the world, accounting for
104 million listeners.[9]
Digital short-wave took a significant step forward with
the Digital Radio Mondiale consortium creating a new channel covering
most of Europe with content that includes BBC World Service.
11. Notwithstanding the continuing importance
of short-wave in some regions, the future of BBC World Service
radio is increasingly focused on FM radio and on expanding the
availability of FM services where possible. The World Service
highlighted progress in securing new FM relays and partners in
key markets such as Kenya, the Middle East and Bangladesh in 2008-09.
In Kenya, five new FM partners were secured and in Bangladesh
the FM network was expanded from three to seven transmitters,
thereby extending the reach of the BBC's services to more than
40% of the population.[10]
12. In terms of television audiences, significant
audience increases were measured in Egypt, Nepal, Saudi Arabia,
Syria, Turkey and the USA. In Turkey a new current affairs television
programme, launched in partnership with Turkish News TV, has increased
audiences.[11] Decreases
were measured in Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Kenya and Iran.[12]
Furthermore, BBC Persian television went on air on 14 January
2009, and is available to a potential audience of more than 100
million Persian speakers in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.[13]
In oral evidence in October 2008, the then Director of the
World Service, Nigel Chapman, identified a figure of 7 million
viewers as an "aspirational and longer term" target
audience for the channel.[14]
OTHER AUDIENCE EVALUATION MEASURES
13. In addition to measuring audience reach,
the World Service also conducts a survey of its customers. In
2008-09 the survey considered measures of objectivity, relevance,
value and loyalty. In 2008-09, the survey results for objectivity
and relevance showed that BBC World Service scored higher than
its nearest international competitor in four-fifths of the countries
surveyed, and higher than its nearest international competitor
in over three quarters of indicators. Ratings for value and loyalty
were also measured in some markets; Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria
and Liberia were amongst the countries where BBC World Service
came out on top.[15]
Multimedia audience
14. The World Service's second target for 2008-09
was to increase the impact of the BBC's online offer through high-quality,
on-demand multimedia services in key languages.[16]
This target specifically reflects the World Service's multimedia
strategy to focus on supplementing traditional audiences with
new audiences on "more rapidly growing platforms".[17]
The World Service noted that "online growth continued to
outstrip predictions and all targets were exceeded". The
number of users reached 5.3 million, 17% higher than the 4.5 million
target. Page views (text and audio) reached 66 million, exceeding
the target of 60 million by 10%, while video views exceeded the
target of 1.3 million by 26%, reaching 1.64 million.[18]
15. The World Service acknowledged that "while
online audiences are currently considerably lower than the traditional
audiences on radio and the large audiences available on TV, the
potential future size of online audiences is enormous and this,
together with the inevitable decline of short-wave radio, is the
reason for significant investment in this platform and development
in general".[19]
In oral evidence to the Committee in October 2008, the then
Director, Nigel Chapman, cited the example of Russia, where the
decline in both short-wave and medium-wave audiences were more
than compensated for by the fact that the BBC Russian website
was reaching 2-3 million people, about three times the level of
radio audiences.[20]
16. We conclude that the strong
performance of the BBC World Service across all media in 2008-09
is to be welcomed. We particularly welcome the unprecedented growth
in online audiences, which exceeded all targets.
BBC multimedia reach in Arabic
17. The third World Service target for 2008-09
was to deliver a high-quality news service in Arabic for the Middle
East, including a 24-hour television service to reach at least
seven million weekly viewers, as part of an overall BBC reach
in Arabic of over 18 million weekly users. Countries covered by
this service include Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel (Arabs
only) and the Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar).[21]
Performance in relation to this target is discussed in chapter
three.
Multimedia news service in Persian
18. The final target for the World Service in
2008-09 was to deliver a high-quality multimedia news service
in Persian. The targets for this service were:
i. to reach at least three million weekly viewers,
as part of an overall BBC reach in Persian of over 10 million
weekly users; and
ii. to have the highest reputational indicators
of any international TV channel in the region, measured in Iran
(and Afghanistan when possible).
Performance in relation to BBC Persian TV and the
multimedia news service is discussed in Chapter 4 below.
6 BBC World Service, Annual Review 2007-08,
p 3 and Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office Annual Report 2007-08, para 304 Back
7
BBC World Service, Annual Review 2008-09, p 22 Back
8
Ibid., p 23 Back
9
BBC World Service, Annual Review 2008-09, p 3 Back
10
Ev 12 Back
11
Ev 14 Back
12
BBC World Service, Annual Review 2008-09, p 23 Back
13
Ibid., p 10 Back
14
Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Annual Report 2007-08, Qq 125-26 Back
15
BBC World Service, Annual Review 2008-09, p 23 Back
16
BBC World Service, Annual Review 2008-09, p 25 Back
17
Ev 17 Back
18
BBC World Service, Annual Review 2008-09, p 25 Back
19
Ev 14 Back
20
Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Annual Report 2007-08, Q 112 Back
21
Ev 21 Back
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