Annual Review 2006/07

Measuring our Performance

BBC World Service is required to report a number of Public Service Agreement measures to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office annually as part of the accountability process. These measures support BBC World Service's agreed objective to be the best-known and most-respected voice in international radio and online broadcasting.

1. GLOBAL RADIO AUDIENCE

1a. Average weekly audience (millions)

Number of adults listening in an average week, through direct and/or indirect broadcasting via partners, excluding areas where measurement is not possible. Global totals are shown rounded to whole numbers; regional figures are shown rounded to nearest half million.The regional figures, therefore, may appear not to add up to the global total.

1b. Awareness, Reach, Objectivity and Relevance

National surveys are carried out in a range of countries every year in order to update the global audience figure and to assess performance among target audiences. Surveys are carried out annually in countries covering around 75% of the global audience, with other countries being surveyed periodically.

National surveys include data on awareness, reach, objectivity and relevance, both for BBC World Service and for international public service radio competitors. This data is reported annually to enable trends to be identified over time.

The following tables show BBC World Service performance in each of these categories:

Awareness
Percentage of adult population who are aware of BBC World Service/main international radio competitor.

Reach
Percentage of adult population who listen to BBC World Service/main international radio competitor weekly.

Objectivity
Percentage of listeners who say that BBC World Service/main international radio competitor 'provides unbiased and objective news and information'.

Relevance
Percentage of listeners who say that BBC World Service/main international radio competitor 'provides news that is relevant to me'.