![]() “This is a continuation of cuts by the BBCWS and many other ‘government’ shortwave stations around the world in recent years who think that they can save money by eliminating shortwave and replacing it with only an internet service.” “Unfortunately, I am not greatly surprised,” said Jeff White, co-founder and general manager of WRMI in Okeechobee, Fla., the largest privately-owned shortwave station in the western hemisphere. Resigned acceptance was the uniform reaction among observers of the international radio scene. The Russian invasion of Ukraine did motivate the BBCWS to resume four hours daily of English service, though not in Ukrainian or Russian, to Eastern Europe in 2022. BBCWS had cancelled direct English-language SW broadcasts to North America in 2001. “Radio broadcasts in China, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey will be axed, and shortwave broadcasts will cease in Hindi,” the Guardian news website reported at the time. In 2011 about 650 BBCWS jobs were lost due to budget cuts. ![]() The cuts are the latest in a long-running move away from global airwaves. The BBCWS’ Arabic, Persian, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Hindi, Bengali, Chinese, Indonesian, Tamil and Urdu radio broadcasts were cancelled.Īlthough shortwave broadcasts from BBC News services will continue in Afaan Oromoo, Amharic, Burmese, Dari, French, Hausa, Korean, Pashto, Somali, Tigrinya, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, the service cuts are another major blow to shortwave’s reputation as a source for reliable global news and information accessible by cheap, hard-to-block radio receivers. “Digital-led” in this case translates to cutting shortwave services in favor of online content, which doesn’t require the hefty expense of power-hungry SW transmitters and expansive antenna farms. “High inflation, soaring costs and a cash-flat Licence Fee settlement have led to tough choices across the BBC, and the BBC’s international services need to make a saving of £28.5 million, as part of the wider £500 million of annual savings and reinvestment to make the BBC digital-led,” the organization wrote in a news release. ![]() ![]() In September the BBC World Service (BBCWS) announced significant service cuts and “around 382 post closures,” or job losses, as the once-powerful global shortwave radio broadcaster copes with its latest round of budget cuts. ![]()
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