BBC World Service is funded through Grant-in-Aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), allocated as part of the Government's Spending Review process.
BBC World Service has complete editorial and managerial independence, however it reports performance against a number of measures agreed with the FCO annually as part of its accountability process.
These measures support BBC World Service's aim to be the world's best-known and most-respected voice in international news, thereby bringing benefit to the UK, the BBC and to audiences around the world.
Key objectives in the current spending review period are:
• To maintain radio audience levels in an increasingly competitive market and to increase the audience overall through the newly launched television service in Arabic
• To increase impact for the BBC in the Middle East by extending the Arabic television service to a full 24-hour offer
• To launch a BBC Persian television service, to reach audiences in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan
In support of these aims a number of targets were agreed with the FCO.
