BBC says its answering popular call for an Arabic TV service

by Joe Lepper, Brand Republic 25-Oct-05, 13:00

LONDON - The BBC World Service has unveiled details of one of the biggest restructures in its history, including the launch of an Arabic language TV station to rival Al Jazeera and the axing of 10 of its foreign-language services, resulting in 236 job losses.

The cuts will mainly affect foreign-language services in Eastern Europe and have been made to help meet the estimated £30m cost of the new channel and other initiatives, including a boost to online coverage in South America, Russia, South Asia and the Middle East.

The new channel is to launch in the Middle East in 2007, will broadcast initially for 12 hours a day and will be available free to satellite and cable users in the region.

Nigel Chapman, BBC World Service director, said: "BBC World Service is already the most successful, trusted and respected voice in the Middle East with more than 60 years experience of broadcasting in the Arabic language on radio and, more recently and successfully, online.

"The BBC Arabic Television Service will build on this legacy by offering trusted and accurate news with an international agenda.

"Our research suggests there is strong demand for an Arabic television service from the BBC in the Middle East."

This is the second attempt by BBC World Service to launch an Arabic TV station. In 1994, it launched a pay-per-view service, but it closed shortly afterwards with many of its staff moving to Al Jazeera.

The 10 language services to be axed by March next year are those in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Thai.

It is estimated that at least 236 jobs will be lost, 127 in the UK, 91 overseas and further 18 posts are to go due to "other reprioritisation", including cuts in the Portuguese and Brazilian services.

However, around 201 new jobs will be created, including 148 by the new Arabic channel, 41 new-media posts and 12 elsewhere in international offices.

Referring to the cuts, Chapman said that the fall of the old Soviet bloc and the opening up of media in countries such as Poland has led to a dip in audience figures for the BBC across Eastern Europe.

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