particularly ITN had established similar services on a commercial basis.
Although Schroder Wagg produced a business plan for a commercially-financed World Service Television News, the finance was not forthcoming from the. private sector. Under the new arrangements, World Service Television News will ride on the back of BBC's other commercial operations which will substantially reduce the capital required. World Service Television News will make use of existing BBC TV News coverage, incorporate pictures supplied by NBC and Visnews, draw on the resources of the BBC Monitoring Service and include specially shot material. In a press statement, Mr John Tusa (Mananging Director of the BBC World Service) said that World Service Television News would "combine the editorial priorities and global news agenda established by BBC World Service radio news with the skills of BBC Television News and Current Affairs. With the news developments of the past year and the uncertainties of the present, there have been increasing calls for BBC World Service Television News to go ahead. Now it will happen".
5. Although many details, like the launch date, have yet to be worked out, we understand that the BBC hope to begin in March 1991 by amalgamating World Service Television News with current BBC TV Europe transmissions. In addition to the recent demands to provide television programmes to British forces in the Gulf, the BBC have received a number of approaches from the Far East and South America. These approaches and the difficulty in raising finance for a free-standing World Service Television News service have no doubt persuaded the BBC to turn BBC TV Europe into a fully international operation with a dedicated international news service akin to that provided by radio.
6.
The FCO can probably expect pressure from the BBC to subsidise rebroadcasting of the new service in countries such as those of Eastern Europe and certain important states in the Third World who claim that they are unable to afford it. We are also slightly sceptical about BBC claims that the new service can be financed from the proceeds of TV Europe, since that is as yet far from profitable. However, the BBC are clearly more confident that they have ever been that the proposed new service is viable.
Anthimy Hami.
A D Harris
Information Department
THE Tregshall be in touch
Weshall be in touch with the BBerank
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why
why they should not help to promote BBC TV International on a Commercial basis. (We should of coure als
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