Shortwave Center, June 1996
BBC Regionalisation
A Listener’s Evaluation
by Peter J. Bowen
Introduction
It has been more than a year now since the BBC World Service radio underwent a massive re-structuring of its program schedule. Mr. Bob Phillis, the prime driving force behind the changes, wanted his efforts to be judged solely on results (BBC Worldwide August 1994, p. 18). So what are those results?
Before I evaluate the results, I would like to review the background to the programming changes. In order to fairly conclude whether a change has met its goals or not, one needs to first of all be aware of those goals.
Background
Several years ago, when the BBC’s Royal Charter came up for renewal, the organisation underwent close scrutiny, as has been a command occurrence at similar times in the past. Changes were seen as being necessary. Mr. Bob Phillis, who at that time was Deputy Director-General of the BBC as a whole, and also Managing Director of World Service, was put in charge of affecting the required changes. Mr. Sam Younger, who at that time was Director of Broadcasting for World Service and is now its Managing Director, was Mr. Phillis’ lieutenant.
Reduced funding from the British government meant that the organisation had to become more efficient and accountable. This in turn meant a renewed look at priorities. Also, new competitive pressures from de-regulated media around the world (especially in Eastern Europe) and advances in satellite television were also cited as reasons for re-organisation (BBC Worldwide, March 1995, p. 32).
Although the principles of the BBC were to be maintained, including its character as a public service broadcaster, the changes were to be broadly based on what its audience wanted. The world was divided into five regions (for World Service radio in English). The audience in each region was then examined to determine its size, location, listening habits, and program preferences. The goad was to determine which of the BBC programs would be best suited for each region, and then to decide on the times to broadcast them so as to be most convenient for the listeners. Each regional stream was to be an integrated unit, providing the programs listeners in each region most wanted to hear, at the times they are most able to listen.
News and current affairs programs would still be broadcast live. Other programs would be pre-recorded before being broadcast. All programs would be broadcast at times most convenient for listeners in each region. Previously, programs were broadcast to parts of the world at times when people were not likely to be listening , and thus were wasted. Regionalisation, or splitstreaming, was designed to rescue those programs and place them at more appropriate times.
Management took pains to stress the view that regionalisation did not mean fragmentation of the World Service. Programs would be the same across all streams, except those designed exclusively for a particular region. In addition, although each stream (regional schedule) was to have its own continuity announcer, individual streams would not be specifically identified in order to preserve the global character of World Service.
Commentary
Before I comment on the extent to which these changes have met their objectives, I will offer some thoughts about the perceived need for such massive change itself.
Although I can understand the need for change due to reduced funding, I cannot understand why a whole scale re-scheduling of all programs was deemed the best way to go. The stated reason of course was in order to increase World Service’s competitiveness by providing programs listeners wanted, at the times at which they wanted to listen. I do not agree with the argument, however, that BBC World Service needs to worry about its competition. Perhaps this is the case in terms of television, where it is still a newcomer on the scene, but it is not the case where radio is concerned.
BBC World Service radio is quite simply in a league by itself, and is unquestionably the finest international broadcaster on the air today. It has a weekly audience of more than 130 million people, and is part of the best news-gathering organisation in the world. There is, quite simply, no competition in sight.
In could be argued that in order to stay on top, World Service needs to change so as to maintain its competitive edge. I do note think that this is a valid argument. In order to stay on top, World Service needs to continue to adhere to the principles that put it there in the first place (for example, an independent, non-commercial funding base, editorial integrity, program decision making at the studio level, etc.). It seems to me that the very last thing that a very successful organisation needs is a radical shake-up. If you have found the formula for success, why change it?
My only explanation for such a mis-guided revolution is to look at Mr. Phillis’ background. He came to the BBC from a career in commercial media, first in the print media and most recently in commercial television. Being given the task of bringing about change, he approached it in the way that he knew best, viz. by looking at the solution in terms of what a broadcaster in the competitive marketplace would do, rather than looking at the problem from the point of view of a public service broadcaster.
The more specific reason for re-scheduling (i.e., to provide listeners with their favourite programs at the best possible times) is simply unworkable. Logically, it does not make sense that the BBC can fit all of its wonderful programs (even with only one airing per day, except for news and current affairs programs) into several hours of peak listening times in each region, especially since each region has only one schedule to cover several (or more) time zones.
So how have the actual results turned out? I will look at one stream in some detail. The Americas stream has been chosen for this purpose, as it best illustrates many of the problems that I have been discussing, and it is the one with which I am most familiar.
Probably the main flaw in the schedule for the Americas is the strong desire on the part of the BBC to cater to the needs of public radio stations in the United States. Mr. Jerry Timins, who is Head of the Americas region, has stated that the Americas’ schedule is “very heavily influenced by the needs of public radio stationsin North America [viz. the U.S.]. Some 2.5 million listeners tune in on these and commercial stations.” (BBC Worldwide, April 1995, p. 18). This still leaves 1 million to 2.5 million other listeners (the numbers in the above-cited article are confusing).
This leads to several problems. Although the Western Hemisphere is composed of many countries, only one is being primarily catered for. Also, 20% to 50% of listeners in this region (both in the US and in other countries) are not being adequately served, neither by type of program broadcast nor by convenient broadcast times for programs.
These programs are apparent from the schedule. I will look at the programming in evening prime times hours, roughly 2200 to 0600 UTC. During these eight hours, there are at least six hours (more on specific evenings) of news and current affairs programs, which is 80% of the times available for all programs. This heavy emphasis on news and current events is to satisfy the voracious appetite for such programming by public radio stations across the several time zones of the US. The result is that there is not enough times left over to air all the other programs that listeners want to hear. These programs thus have to be scheduled at non-peak hours when listeners may well not be able to tune in. So much for having programs broadcast at convenient times.
The schedule for the Americas provides lots of evidence to support the argument that the public service role of the BBC World Service, ostensibly supported by Mr. Phillis, is being submerged under a sea of commercial interests. Mr. Timmins has put the interests of his commercial partners (public radio stations in the US) well ahead of listeners across that region as a whole. This flies in the face of what a public service broadcaster should do, i.e., serve the public. The public in the Americas, as I have shown, is not presently being served by the program schedule, neither in terms of geography nor in terms of programming, as there is an over-emphasis on the needs of a specialised audience in only one country.
It is my view that a public service broadcaster, especially a global one, should serve the needs of all the public, both in terms of program choices and times of broadcast. This in turn means the broadcaster must respond to the desires of listeners whose tastes in programs may not be the same as the majority of listeners, as well as those who do not have much financial or numerical clout.
As if all this were not enough, the schedule for the Americas is being frequently changed. Although splitstreaming has been in effect for only one year, there have been two major rounds of changes as well as some minor changes during the year. The main news and current affairs programs to the Americas, however, have not at all been altered since the advert of splitstreaming. This is more evidence of Mr. Timmins’ desire to keep public radio stations in the US happy.
The public is not being served by having to frequently readjust their listening habits. Coming after the massive scheduling changes due to regionalisation, frequent program changes within a regional schedule only adds insult to injury. In fact, this could mean a loss of listeners, as some may well become fed up with the frequent need to become accustomed to new program schedules. Stability and continuity are key to building a strong base of listeners in any field of radio broadcasting, including international radio broadcasting.
Conclusion
It is my view that the fine tradition of the BBC World Service is being rather rapidly eroded in several respects. What we now have is something of a hybrid: a public service broadcaster, acting to a large extent like a commercial broadcaster trying to define and maintain for itself a place within the competitive marketplace. I fear that, as a result, much has been lost, and little has been gained.
Bibliography
I have used materials from the following issues of BBC Worldwide : August 1994, pp. 14-18; March 1995, pp. 32-34; April 1995, pp. 14-18; and July 1995, pp. 85-86.
Kang Guru II Radio English
by Ron Howard
Imagine my surprise when I was listening to RRI-Sorong with a good signal and heard the start of “Dateline”, an English language program. A rare phenomenon for RRI. It was the 13th of March, 1996 at 1231 UTC on 4874.60 khz. The program’s contents I found to be very good; a story of a ship wreck off the coast of Australia in June of 1878, “Around Indonesia” with good information about the Indonesian national bird plus a story of an Australian musical group. All this by announcers with great Australian accents. The program concluded with: “This show has been produced at the Kang Guru II Radio English studio at the Indonesia Australia Language Foundation”. They said listeners could write to:
Kang Guru II Radio English
P.O. Box 6756 JKSRB
Jakarta 12067
The postal numbers and letters were spoken in Indonesian and Kang Guru sounded just like “kangaroo”. On the following Wednesday I also noted this program again, which tends to indicate they are on every Wednesday. Their Web site (www.indo.net.id/commercial/waterfall/kanggur.html) provided the following information: [Webmaster’s note: This URL no longer works. Looking at the site, it appears that, as of May 28, 1996, all web information from Waterfall has been archived and is not available, including information for Kang Guru II.] Kang Guru II was established in 1991 and has become one of the biggest English language clubs in the world. It is intended to help Indonesians learn English and to improve their listening skills plus provides information about Australia. “Kang” is a Sundanese word from West Java meaning “brother”. “Guru” is from bahasa Indonesia and means “teacher”. RRI broadcasts Kang Guru II from 43 stations and many stations broadcasts it twice a week. It might be an interesting project to see how many other RRI stations carry Kang Guru II Radio English programming, though of course it’s possible that it is mainly carried over AM stations but I hope someone will find other stations with this program. So give RRI-Sorong a try on Wednesday, for you might just enjoy this unique show as much as I have and good luck with searching for other sites.
Ron follows up-
I have just heard Kang Guru II Radio English program with an excellent signal (100% readablity) via RRI-Jakarta on 9680.0 khz., from 12.31 - 12.51 UTC, on April 2, Tuesday and believe this is on every Tuesday. Many more listeners should now be able to hear and enjoy this show. I am also in touch with Greg Clough, one of the announcers and the Project Manager, and I got a full list of broadcast times and frequencies from him, which is below:
| Stn | Nom. Fqy | Day(s) | Local Time | UTC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambon | 3241 | Tue & Fri | 1525 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 0725 | |
| Banda Aceh | 3905 | Wed | 0830 W. Indo [UTC+7] | 0130 | |
| Banjarmasin | 3250 | Sun | 1700 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 0900 | |
| Banjarmasin | 3250 | Wed | 2030 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 1230 | |
| Bukittinggi | 4910 | Tue & Thu | 1000 W. Indo [UTC+7] | 0300 | |
| Dili | 3305 | Fri & Sun | 1530 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 0730 | |
| Fak-Fak | 4789 | Tue | 1915 E. Indo [UTC+9] | 1015 | |
| Jakarta | 11760, 9525, 4775, 9680, and prob. 15130 & 15150 | Tue | 1930 W. Indo [UTC+7] | 1230 | |
| Jayapura | 6070 | Wed | 0830 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 0030 | |
| Kendari | 4000 | Wed | 1910 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 1110 | |
| Nabire | 5055 | Mon | 0730 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 2330 | |
| Nabire | 5055 | Wed | 1030 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 0230 | |
| Nabire | 5055 | Fri | 1630 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 0830 | |
| Palangkaraya | 3325 | Sun & Fri | 0730 W. Indo [UTC+7] | 0030 | |
| Pontianak | 3995 | Sun | 1700 W. Indo [UTC+7] | 1000 | |
| Semarang | 3934 | Mon & Sat | 2015 W. Indo [UTC+7] | 1315 | |
| Sorong | 4875 | Wed | 2130 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 1330 | |
| Ternate | 3925, 3345 | Fri | 1815 C. Indo [UTC+8] | 1015 |
First a query from John Carson-
I wonder if others in our hobby still like to use personal “QSL” cards when sending reception reports to various stations? I for one still use them, like them and feel that they work, especially on stations that might not otherwise repond quickly, if at all to a plain jane report. It might be interesting to collect cards from the NASWA members that may use them.
John also sent along a couple of articles from Radio World:
Set Technology to help shortwave
by Ian McFarland
Many shortwave listeners these days are convinced that satellites will take over international broadcasting, relegating shortwave radios to little more than ornaments of a bygone era. The truth is that over the coming decade, satellites will increasingly be used for international broadcasting, especially when satellite-base Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) comes on the scene. But, as several facts indicate, shortwave is far from dead.
New relay site
The BBC World Service is constructing a new relay site in Thailand that will have an active life of at least 10 to 20 years. Even more ambitious is the multimillion dollar upgrade and revamping of the “Radio France International” (RFI) Allouis and Issoudun SW transmitter sites.
Currently being installed at the Allouis site are a dozen new 500 kW Alliss transmitter/antenna modules. The installation was developed by Thomcast and Telediffusion de France, the technical services provider for RFI.
These unique, self-contained modules incorporate a complete transmitter unit and a reversible, rotatable curtain array antenna covering 24.75 square meters. The antenna can be rotated 360 degrees in approximately three minutes.
Obviously, broadcasters like the BBC WS and RFI would not invest so heavily in a broadcast medium whose death was imminent.
Another interesting new technology that should instill hope in the hearts of avid SW listeners is ID Logic. ID Logic is good news for SW listeners, constantly frustrated by the semiannual frequency and schedule changes of favorite stations.
Basically, the ID Logic system allows a SW receiver maintain a built-in file of information on a variety of radio stations. For SW, the system allows a receiver to “know” the schedule of each major broadcasting advance, letting a listener easily find the frequency of a given station by going through a menu and selecting the best frequency.
Eventually, a top-of-the-line receiver equipped with ID Logic might automatically use the system to tune in the strongest frequency for a listener-selected station.
Periodic updating
Since SW stations normally change frequencies several times a year due to changes in propagation conditions, data in the receiver ID Logic system requires periodic updating. This is done by means of digital data transmitted either during or after a broadcast.
Data can be transmitted silently, more or less continuously during a broadcast, by phase modulating the station carrier. This is known as the Amplitude Modulated Data System (AMDS), which is similar to the Radio Data System (RDS). The audible method of data transmission is by transmitting a short burst of data using the Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) mode of transmission: It sounds similar to a fax signal or radio teletype transmission.
The silent AMDS method has the decided advantage of being transmitted frequently enough during a broadcast to overcome any problems caused by fades in the SW signal. Conceivably, a high-end receiver could include a small thermal printer to print out data received by the ID Logic system. If a receiver is used on a regular basis, then the ID Logic system will keep the data file of the receiver up to date at all times.
The Hong Kong-based PRS Corporation, which developed ID Logic technology, first approached the BBC WS with the idea of incorporating ID Logic into its broadcasts. After a close look, the BBC joined with the Voice of America (VOA) to examine the technicalities of what PRS was suggesting. A small consortium of interested SW stations and companies then formed to pursue the ID Logic idea.
Consortium meeting
These discussions culminated in a meeting of the consortium in Hong Kong, hosted by PRS and the BBC WS. Taking part in the meeting were BBC WS, VoA, Deutsche Welle (DW), Radio Canada International (RCI), TDF, and three SW receiver manufacturers-Phillips, Sony and Sangean. More recent additions to the consortium are “Radio Austria International” and “Radio Australia” International.
“We see ID Logic as a possible movement forward in a new dimension in SW broadcasting. We have always felt that we needed to help the listener in this crowded SW spectrum,” said Ian Davey, the engineer in charge of ID Logic-related activities at the BBC WS.
Robert Kamosa, chief engineer at the VOA, also feels that despite the current momentum toward satellite DAB in the international area, ID Logic remains a reasonable system to implement.
“We would still like to keep all the options open,” Kamosa said, “I think it is very user-friendly type of system that can only enhance SW reception while we await the final developments in direct satellite broadcasting.”
Even once satellite broadcasting arrives, Kamosa added, it may be a long time before listeners in some underdeveloped areas of the world can afford satellite equipment; however, they might more easily afford an ID Logic-equipped SW receiver.
AMDS signal
DW is ahead of its fellow ID Logic consortium members, having broadcast an AMDS signal on one of its SW transmitters for two years now. Norbert Schall, head of the DW Planning and Project Section, said that DW will not be the first to implement ID Logic on all of its operations; but it certainly will do so if other broadcasters do.
Schall added that despite any future move to satellite broadcasting, there will still be many more people in different parts of the world listening to DW on SW. “It is necessary,” he said, “to make things easier for those listeners-not simply abandon them because they do not have a satellite dish.”
ID Logic creates another all-too-familiar “the chicken or the egg” situation. Receiver manufactures are hesitant to redesign receivers unless data transmissions for the radios to pick up exist. But broadcasters do not want to transmit a data signal unless receivers are on the market.
RCI Chief Engineer Jacques Bouliane said that as soon as an encoder appears on the market, he will use it to make ID Logic transmissions available. His hope is that this will help prove there is a need for ID Logic receivers in the marketplace.
Hopefully, the majority of SW broadcasters feel this way, and standards will be agreed upon in the near future. Then international SW broadcasting can enjoy the new lease on life that it most certainly deserves.