Post by steevo on Oct 26, 2005 10:43:46 GMT
The BBC World Service said Tuesday it would launch an Arabic TV and information service, and end services in 10 other languages to help pay for the venture.
The Arabic service will be the first publicly funded international television service launched by the British Broadcasting Corp. Its BBC World TV service is a commercial venture.
The BBC said it would end broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Thai by March.
"The changes add up to the biggest transformation of BBC World Service that has been undertaken - and one of the most far-reaching - since the BBC began international broadcasting more than 70 years ago," BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman said.
The Arabic channel initially will broadcast 12 hours a day via satellite and cable, and will employ 148 people.
"Many of the European services being closed had their roots in the Second World War and have served their audiences well right through the Cold War years," Chapman said.
"But Europe has changed, fundamentally, since the early '90s. Now the countries to which these languages are broadcast are members of the EU (European Union), or are likely to join soon."
Needless to say the BBC has changed fundamentally.
The Arabic service will be the first publicly funded international television service launched by the British Broadcasting Corp. Its BBC World TV service is a commercial venture.
The BBC said it would end broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Thai by March.
"The changes add up to the biggest transformation of BBC World Service that has been undertaken - and one of the most far-reaching - since the BBC began international broadcasting more than 70 years ago," BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman said.
The Arabic channel initially will broadcast 12 hours a day via satellite and cable, and will employ 148 people.
"Many of the European services being closed had their roots in the Second World War and have served their audiences well right through the Cold War years," Chapman said.
"But Europe has changed, fundamentally, since the early '90s. Now the countries to which these languages are broadcast are members of the EU (European Union), or are likely to join soon."
Needless to say the BBC has changed fundamentally.
