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Detailed Reviews of Individual Services
5.
All
It
Mr Hinchcliffe summarised the detailed reviews of
individual services undertaken by Information Department, geographical departments and the BBC since the last Prescription Committee meeting. They were useful. concerned were working well together and posts were
contributing a worthwhile input. On the Transcription Service agreement had been reached on the objectives of the Service, including the widest possible distribution of TS material and exposure of British artists and maximising
revenue from sales to keep the subsidy from the grants-in-aid to a minimum. The gross annual cost of the
Service was about £1.8m with revenue around £0.9m a year
leaving a net cost to the grants-in-aid of some £0.9m a
year. This was worth continuing though priority remained
low. The Far Eastern Service review concluded the resources
were generally being used efficiently and effectively.
had been useful to have a preliminary discussion about
obtaining maximum benefit from the new Hong Kong relay station due to become operational in 1987/88, including the
merits of possible increases in Mandarin and a new Korean
Service. The French and German Service review had been a
difficult one.
We had concluded that the French for Africa
broadcasts were a generally effective and efficient use of
resources. We had categorised the French for Europe and German as low priority services given the decline in Short
Wave listening in Western Europe, although the special
position of the GDR and the need for reasonably
sophisticated programming to attract listeners there was
recognised. The BBC were keen to preserve these services
intact and were developing the "BBC 648" Medium Wave
co-ordinated English, French and German Service. We were
content to let them continue with their MW plans, but we had
made it clear that these Services as a whole remained
vulnerable if savings were needed to finance increases in
higher priority services elsewhere.
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