Tag Archives: BBC

Confession time: I love the BBC countdown

Most shortwave radio listeners are familiar with interval signals–those ditties that precede a shortwave radio broadcast–indicating a specific broadcast frequency and that a broadcast is about to begin.

On television, there’s really no need for an interval signal: channel selection is accurate and schedules are ubiquitous. Indeed, there’s no guess work involved at all. Tune to channel 3 at 6:00, and you know the evening news awaits you.

Still, many television news services around the world provide a visual-plus-aural countdown for their viewers which, in essence, serves the same purposes as an interval signal. As on the radio, it’s a build up…a “get ready, here comes the news” statement that’s separate from the title sequence. The most notable example I know of is the BBC’s television countdown, which, depending on timing, might count down for one minute–or even for several minutes on satellite feeds.

Here is the BBC’s latest (2013) countdown:

News agencies in the US, alas, never bother with a one-minute countdown to the hour because this is profitable time that can be filled with a sponsors’ advertising.

Perhaps that why I’ve always been a fan of the BBC, and even proudly payed my TV tax when I lived in Britain. The BBC, in general, represented a refuge from other TV mass media and the accompanying news network over-stimulus. While I still have many criticisms of the BBC–indeed, they’re stumbling now–I nonetheless prefer this broadcaster to most TV news services stateside. [Of course, what I find most objectionable are the changes which could affect the integrity of the BBC World Service, now directly funded by the UK’s TV licensing fees instead of the Foreign Office.]

But I do enjoy this countdown.

If you share my appreciation for this “TV interval signal,” here are a few other examples starting with a compilation of BBC countdowns from 1999-2007 produced by a fan:

ABC News 24:

NBC News Special Report Countdown:

Sky News:

And if you can’t get enough of the BBC’s countdown montage, here’s a 10 minute filler version:

Will anyone else confess their love for a broadcaster’s countdown? Please comment!

Why shortwave? Russia blocks web pages linked to Ukraine protests

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(Photo: VOA News)

In response to the BBG’s request for comments on the relevancy of shortwave radio, SWLing Post reader, Rick, writes:

“Here is the reason why VOA needs to keep broadcasting on shortwave.

Russia (or China or Angola or Zimbabwe or Iraq or Afghanistan or Syria) can easily block Internet access — to include, and particularly from, VOA. While shortwave can be jammed it takes a little more effort (and a considerable amount of budget to pay the electric bill for the high-powered jamming signals).

Unlike AM and FM radio transmission, shortwave transmitters can be located continents away from the strife for protection of the transmission infrastructure.

Shortwave transmission — coupled with the surreptitious distribution and proliferation of cheap shortwave radio receivers for target audiences — can help insure that the voice of freedom and democracy can continue to be heard in geopolitical hotspots throughout the world.”

Read the story Rick refers to here: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/russia-ukraine-protests-websites-internet-104171.html

Richard voices his opinion about BBC World Service commercialization

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Richard Cuff–noted SWL and festmeister for the Winter SWL Fest–sent a message to the BBC World Service listener feedback program Over To You deploring the BBC’s decision to incorporate limited advertising on the World Service as of April 2014.

Over To You contacted Richard and invited him to an interview where he discussed these changes with Mark Bunting, head of BBC WS Strategy.

The program aired earlier this week. Richard noted that the discussion was “chopped quite a bit” to fit a nine minute time slot.

Click here to listen to Richard’s interview on Over To You: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01sbmkt

BBC World Service to further reduce shortwave

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(Image source: BBC)

I appears the BBC World Service is cutting shortwave broadcasts even further in an attempt to meet tighter budget numbers. Not many details, at the moment, in terms of what language programs will suffer the most.

Many thanks to Richard Cuff for the tip:

(Source: The Guardian)

The BBC World Service will further reduce its shortwave transmissions next year as part of a £15m savings drive which staff have been warned will be a “real stretch”.

The money will be used to invest in new TV and digital services, part of a programme called Invest to Innovate.

An extra £6.5m is being pumped into the World Service’s budget this year, alongside an extra £1.5m of savings, helping to create 130 jobs. New initiatives include a global version of Radio 1’s Newsbeat.

But the BBC’s director of global news, Peter Horrocks, said further savings would be required in the future.

[…]Horrocks said changes would include more multilingual reporting, with staff filing for their own language service and in English, as well as a further reduction in shortwave transmissions.

He said the World Service would also have to integrate further with the main BBC News operation.

Horrocks also announced that the BBC’s global news division, which includes its world news TV channel, would be renamed “World Service Group … a sort of World Service-plus” and the World Service board would be axed with the change in its funding.

[…]It closed five language services, stopped radio broadcasts in seven languages, cut back on shortwave and medium-wave transmissions and axed a number of World Service English programmes.[…]

Read the full article at The Guardian online.