Joel Rubin wrote:

On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 06:47:27 +0000 (UTC), "Mike Terry"
wrote:

"Short wave listening around the world is declining.

The downward trend is accelerating: the global short wave audience for BBC
World Service has dropped from 122 million in 1996 to 97 million in 2003.

Like other international broadcasters, BBC World Service has been adjusting
its short wave provisions in line with global demand changes.

Alternative ways to listen

At the same time BBC World Service has been investing in new delivery
methods, all with the improved audibility now preferred by audiences, such
as FM, cable, satellite and online.

BBC World Service is committed to making the best use of the money it
receives from the government and has had considerable success in attracting
audiences to these new methods of delivery; more than 50 million are using
these and the numbers are growing fast.

Separately, online usage has grown from three million page impressions every
month in late 1998 to almost 300 million by 2004, which is equivalent to 18
million unique users.

Alongside in-depth news and information, programmes are available streamed
both live and on demand at the convenience of the listener.

There are now more ways to listen to BBC World Service broadcasts than ever
before. To check for availability in your region please click here."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/us...ort_wave.shtml


1) When push comes to shove, shortwave frequently goes where the new
methods can't.

For example, the King of Nepal shut off 'net connections and FM local
relays of the Beeb but it is far harder to shut down shortwave.

I've been saying this for weeks, yet nobody has been listening. Nepal
was a warning shot over the bow of the BBC and every other shortwave
broadcaster (Voice of America, anyone?) who thinks that FM and the net
can replace shortwave. I figure that it will take a first world
country-such as the USA-doing what his majesty did in Nepal to make SW
broadcasters sit up and take notice. An Iraqi insurgent takeover of a
Sawa FM outlet might work, too.

Also, I have never heard of a shortwave transmitter which could not
take on further listeners because of network overloads.

The old bugaboo of the net-never enough bandwidth. As bandwidth expands,
so does content, like a goldfish that expands to fit its environment.
Now that people have broadband, they download whole movies. People
didn't do that with 14.4 modem connections and 80 MB hard drives. I
suppose if they invent a fatter internet pipe than broadband, people
will invent more and bigger content for it. Analog over the air radio
doesn't have this problem, obviously. All it will take is some 13 year
old hacker shutting down the internet for a while for people to realize
that the internet isn't reliable yet. Not to mention security, which is
a whole other post...

2) Once you go on the internet, you don't need BBCWS anymore - you
might as well listen to Beeb domestic. For example, I rarely listen to
BBCWS on the internet but I am a frequent listener to the satellite
network BBC7 (with old comedy and drama) and Radio 4, each of which is
streamed.

The BBC seems to think that it can put the BBCWS on just a handful of FM
outlets and have it survive. I really don't think so. Also, has it
occured to them that the decline in SW listeners has been a result of
them cutting out whole continents (NAm and Aus) from their services and
reducing transmissions to others?


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