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are also conducting further audience research in Japan into programme preferences, the results of which are expected in September. The BBC intention will be to restructure programming and seek local rebroadcasting outlets, both direct and via cable (as it has in parts of Western Europe and in the US) in order to try to improve audiences and effectiveness.
4. The BBC agreed with Kuala Lumpur's view that, in its present form, the Malay Service is not viable but argued that it might be more effective if it was doubled to half an hour a day, which would allow time for a full news and current affairs programme. They recognised this would have resource implications (2 additional staff plus programme allowance) and that the
additional transmitter time would probably be at the expense of a higher FCO priority service.
Audibility
5. I attach a copy of a BBC paper giving the latest information on audibility in the relevant target areas.
Prescription Changes
6.
The BBC indicated that they might be able to continue the temporary additional 30 minutes a day of Mandarin beyond
6 September, perhaps until the end of the year, from within existing resources. We have asked the BBC to do this until the FCO review of policy towards China has been completed in the autumn. We are not convinced that there is a case for a permanent increase in Mandarin output beyond the present 17 hours a week (it was increased from 10 a week as recently as September 1987) or for an increase in Cantonese from 51/4 hours a week as the Guandong region has access to other sources of information from Hong Kong.
7. We concluded that the present output of the Thai and Indonesian Services was adequate. On Vietnamese, we have asked the BBC to provide us with a costed case for an extra 15 minute dawn transmission to make 3 x hour slots a day as suggested by Hanoi.
8. On Japanese and Malay, we have told the BBC we shall wish to consider the future of both services at our next Review of the World Service Prescription in November and would wish to have any further evidence about present or future audience levels before then. The BBC indicated this was more precipitate than they would wish and they wanted time to consider alternative ways of
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