It has been an extraordinary year for the BBC World Service
in which we built on our outstanding reputation as a beacon of trust, independence and quality
As the Iraq war began, the BBC World Service in
English undertook its biggest news programming
operation ever, providing continuous news and
analysis for over 220 hours.
The BBC Arabic Service also played a pivotal role
in providing independent, trusted information to
the people of Iraq and across the Arab world. It
broadcast live from Cairo at breakfast time and
produced an extra 13 hours of news and current
affairs output every day.
A wide range of voices and opinions was
reflected in daily interactive discussion forums on
the English and Arabic radio services and online,
which became a strong and distinctive feature of
the output.
In Iraq itself during the war, we were providing a
lifeline service of trusted information to the Iraqi
people through the BBC Arabic Service. At the
same time, coalition forces were tuning in to the
World Service in English on the battlefield as they
advanced to Baghdad. Meanwhile, at the Central
Command Centre in Qatar, BBC World was a
key source of information.
It was a vivid reminder of the role and
responsibility the BBC plays in providing trusted,
reliable, accurate, impartial information to all its
audiences; to make sense of a complex, confusing
and contradictory world; and to provide a forum
for the exchange of ideas.
At its best, international broadcasting has the
potential to foster understanding and establish
a genuine dialogue across cultural, linguistic and
national boundaries. There has never been a
more important time to connect with our
audiences and encourage them to connect
with each other.
In July 2002, the Government announced a
Spending Review settlement for the World Service
with an average 3.4% above RPI annual increase
for 2003-06. New investment plans focus on
content enrichment in radio for services to the
Arab world and Afghanistan; FM expansion in
the major global conurbations; and building our
multi-lingual internet presence with enhanced
interactivity.
We retained our global audience of at least
150 million weekly listeners in a world of exploding
competition. This has been achieved by expanding
local partnerships and our FM presence. The World
Service is now available on FM in 138 capital cities.
In some countries, BBC World Service has as
great an impact as BBC Radio 2 – Britain’s most listened-to
station – has in the UK. For example,
World Service programmes in Nigeria and Kenya
have a weekly reach of over 30%.
Moreover, the first independent city-wide survey
in Kabul since the fall of the Taleban showed BBC
World Service to be the leading broadcaster in the
Afghanistan capital with an unprecedented 82%
of Afghans listening to BBC broadcasts in Persian
and Pashto every week.
Audiences in the USA listening via FM
rebroadcasters on public radio are now at their
highest level ever. Audience figures have increased
by 70% in the past two years – up from 2.3 million
in 2001 to 3.9 million, in one of the world’s most
competitive markets. An average 22% of opinion
formers in Boston, New York and Washington
listen to the World Service each week.
Surveys from nine selected markets around
the globe show that the BBC World Service
is the most trusted and objective international
broadcaster in each market.
A MORI survey of UK MPs showed a further
rise in the World Service favourability rating
to its highest level ever. Moreover, the latest
independent survey of British Ambassadors and
High Commissioners reveals that 93% agree that
the BBC World Service enhances Britain’s image
abroad. Some 70% of the UK population is now
aware of the World Service.
An international English language version of
the BBC news online site – bbcnews.com –
was successfully launched in July. It built on the
BBC’s reputation for convenience, depth, analysis,
expertise and innovation – a trusted and widely
used news forum on the internet for debating
key global issues, promoting interactivity and
dialogue. It won the prestigious 2002 Webby
award for the best news website in the world.
With the Iraq war creating huge interest
worldwide in our online news offer, international
traffic in March 2003 increased year-on-year by
over 200% for the combined international facing
news site in English and the language services to
228 million page impressions. This easily broke all
previous records. There were particularly large
gains for online services in English, Arabic, Spanish
and Persian.
BBC Monitoring, based at Caversham, responded
to the particularly high demand for fast and
accurate global media monitoring in the past year,
particularly during the Iraq conflict. Customer
satisfaction ratings for usefulness, range, selection
and responsiveness remained high.
The World Service marked its 70th anniversary
throughout December 2002 with high-profile
events of ambition and innovation that made
impact both globally and at home. Programmes
included a global concert – live from Dakar, Kabul,
London, Mexico City and Mumbai – and a special
14-hour programme on the anniversary day of
19 December, linking more than 50 outside
broadcasts around the world.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his special
70th anniversary lecture, memorably described
the World Service as a “lifeline to learning,
enlightenment and to hope itself”.
It’s a testimony we will strive to uphold.
Mark Byford
Director
BBC World Service and Global News
