Spanish Radio Exterior Service to end tomorrow

[kenglish]

Another (BIG) shortwave broadcaster bites the dust.

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2014/september/spain_to_abandon_shortwave.htm#.VCqskxbhJkQ

Also, noted another site that said Vatican Radio may be gone soon (another BIG broadcaster).

 

[crainbebo]

Wow! This was unexpected. I'll miss the SS futbol commentary. They were probably thinking about it - very little EE broadcasts and at this time of year 6055 khz at 0000z is too early in the evening to get a reliable signal from the English service.
I bet you by 2020, all we'll hear is noise, religious broadcasters and China. Nothing else from Europe, Africa or Asia. Which makes ZERO sense. Africa and west Asia need all the shortwave they can get. That continent of Africa has VERY little Internet (except for South Africa mainly), and shortwave is listened to by the millions in those third-world countries, since some countries have little AM or FM.
BBC World Service has made many cuts over the past 5-10 years as well including biting the dust on the World Service in English for the Caribbean (and North America). RNW is totally gone as is Radio Canada International, which did have broadcasts aimed at Africa and third-world countries. They still operate EE in the daytime on 15400 but I can hardly get a signal, much less listen in full quality. I have to listen to BBCWS in the early mornings while they are beamed to East Asia on 5830/5895.

-crainbebo

 

[kenglish]

Just read something that said RNW, under it's new mandate, may also be gone. Seems that they can not get their internet-based-sevice-to-underserved-areas act together, either.
They did so well with shortwave BROADCASTING, for decades.

 

[crainbebo]

So pretty much RNW will be defunct worldwide? Gosh, I can't imagine SW radio by 2020. Let's hope that WRMI, or WWCR, or WBCQ gets some relays of the international broadcasters. Did you know the 9955 WRMI relays Radio Slovakia International? Maybe they can get Exterior de Espana, and BBC World Service, and others, instead of jesus broadcasters.

-crainbebo

 

[mimo]

REE was one of the few stations I even bothered to programme into the G8's shortwave section....now even less reason to push that button.

 

[boombox4]

Their Spanish service is on the air right now on 9535 khz. Never heard their English broadcasts, just the Castilian Spanish ones. Really miss the broadcasts from Costa Rica, were fairly loud here. I always liked the music they played.

 

[boombox4]

RE: Streaming. it's great when you have the exact right app that will actually work on your device, and then you're depending on the stream actually working. That's if the foreign broadcaster even streams. Try streaming Iran or Greece. Good luck. I have decent luck with northern Europe both on TuneIn and the web, but even some US stations have dodgy streams.

 

[davideduardo]

Africa and west Asia need all the shortwave they can get. That continent of Africa has VERY little Internet (except for South Africa mainly), and shortwave

There are about 40 different FMs in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, and nearly every town of significance has a handful of stations.

That's just one example.

Cities in Africa have proportionally more FMs than American cities. The bigger stations in each country are nicely equipped and well programmed.

While some shortwave may be listened to in rural areas, most of those zones only speak vernaculars that are not heard on short wave; Niger alone has 21 different spoken languages ranging from European languages to vernaculars and dialects.

As to internet, I'd remind you that the various episodes of Arab Spring in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt were fueled by the Internet and in the larger uban areas, the Internet is readily accessible to those in middle and upper income levels. Same goes for Western Asia (I presume you mean places like Indonesia and such).

 

[crainbebo]

Western Asia? No, places like Georgia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Those are small countries likely with little access to mass media in rural areas.
And how about places like Burundi, Malawi and Uganda? We're still sending aid and money over to starving children in Uganda. That area might not have that many FMs either and I wonder how many have shortwave. Probably half the country at least. Swahili and English are the two languages spoken and I have heard VOA, Deutsche Welle and others in Swahili before, probably targeting that country and others.

-crainbebo

 

[Mediafrog+]

Western Asia? No, places like Georgia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Those are small countries likely with little access to mass media in rural areas.
And how about places like Burundi, Malawi and Uganda? We're still sending aid and money over to starving children in Uganda. That area might not have that many FMs either -crainbebo

A brief glance through a recent World Radio TV Handbook quickly reveals that those countries have lots and lots of FM stations, and the WRTH doesn't even list them all (often leaving out low power operations.) Decades ago your assertion might have been true, but no longer.

Shortwave radio is disappearing because, outside of a few very specific areas, the audience has vanished. Local FM relays, satellite TV and The Internet are the replacements. Plus governments around the world are under tremendous budget pressure, and international broadcasting is a prime target for cuts.

I've been a shortwave listener since the mid-1960's. Sad to see most of it go, but I am also a realist. New technology and shifting listener preferences have forced change. See the demise of AM Radio in favor of FM, then the assault by online audio media.

BTW, it appears the shortwave demise of Radio Exterior de España has been pushed back by a few weeks. Lots of confusion at parent RTVE about the organization's future direction.

So pretty much RNW will be defunct worldwide? Gosh, I can't imagine SW radio by 2020. Let's hope that WRMI, or WWCR, or WBCQ gets some relays of the international broadcasters. Did you know the 9955 WRMI relays Radio Slovakia International? Maybe they can get Exterior de Espana, and BBC World Service, and others, instead of jesus broadcasters.

The last vestige of RNW radio efforts (the "El Toque" program) had its last SW broadcast on August 1. RNW is now gone from SW.

The American shortwave broadcasters you mentioned are private commercial stations that sell airtime. WRMI has a few international stations as part of its programming, but I suspect most of those are unpaid public service filler, presumably to juice whatever residual interest there is in shortwave listening. For any extensive relays, the time would have to be paid for, which probably is not going to happen. As with AM radio, the religious broadcasters don't care if the audience is tiny to nonexistent, as long as they can "get the message out." And as long as the checks clear, the private commercial stations don't care if the audience is tiny to nonexistent, either.

 

[davideduardo]

Western Asia? No, places like Georgia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Those are small countries likely with little access to mass media in rural areas.

As Mr Frog states, there are many FMs in those nations. WRTVH does not list most FMs in most nations, as its heritage is shortwave and, by extension, medium wave.

Once the Iron Curtain fell and the Soviet Bloc fell apart, local FM sprung up everywhere from Bulgaria to Estonia to Georgia. In many of the larger of those nations FM networks, following the Western European model, were built covering virtually the whole country in many cases.

And how about places like Burundi, Malawi and Uganda? We're still sending aid and money over to starving children in Uganda.

When I was building stations in Ecuador, the US government was send aid for everything from farmers to universities. But we had over 200 stations for 5 million people.. and today there are still about 150 AM stations and over 300 FM stations for 14 million people. There are 5 or 6 FMs that lay claim to covering virtually 100% of the population via dozens of installations of high powered repeaters filled in with lower power "translators".

Burundi and Malawi and Uganda are filled with FMs. The licensing is easy, and every population center is overbuilt with stations.

That area might not have that many FMs either and I wonder how many have shortwave. Probably half the country at least.

Shortwave is nearly dead save a few government stations, but the FM dial is packed in the largest cities and well populated elsewhere.

Swahili and English are the two languages spoken and I have heard VOA, Deutsche Welle and others in Swahili before, probably targeting that country and others.

Malawi is an English speaking country for government and business, but the main language is Chewa for about half the population and there are 7 or 8 other vernaculars spoken there.

Uganda has a Swahili speaking population, but the administrative language is English and to some extent, Lugandan. There are about 10 tribal vernaculars.

Burundi's main languages are French and Kirundi, and Swahili is spoken as a regional vernacular.

Only about 4 or 5 million in all Africa speak Swahili as a mother tongue (a few more if you consider Comoran to be a dialect of Swahili), but it is a Lingua Franca of sorts between vernaculars... in other words, used often but not the preferred language of most in the nations you mention. Swahili is the language of trade in cities and market towns, so it tends to be spoken in urban areas mostly, not in rural zones-

So VOA Swahili broadcasts tend to be relatively unappealing to those who would prefer either their vernacular or English or French for radio listening.

The language issues in Africa constitute the main reason why short wave is not an effective medium as there are hundreds of vernaculars in Sub Saharan Africa.

 

[crainbebo]

Maybe they are waiting until 10/15. 6055 is still in EE, 9535 and 9620 are still in SS at this hour (0045 UTC).

-crainbebo

 

[crainbebo]

Yep, they did wait until 10/15. Blank frequency on 6055 and 9535 last night. RIP to another European shortwave station. Thank god we still have the BBC in some form somewhere in the world on SW, as well as Deutsche Welle...both of them are probably next to shut off altogether. 20 years from now there will be a few US religious stations, China, and a lot more ham operators on what used to be the "49-meter band."

-crainbebo

 

[CTListener]

Yep, they did wait until 10/15. Blank frequency on 6055 and 9535 last night. RIP to another European shortwave station. Thank god we still have the BBC in some form somewhere in the world on SW, as well as Deutsche Welle...both of them are probably next to shut off altogether. 20 years from now there will be a few US religious stations, China, and a lot more ham operators on what used to be the "49-meter band."

-crainbebo

And 9535 used to be Swiss Radio International's in my youth, in fact SRI's -- for reception on that frequency -- was the first QSL I ever received, in 1967. RIP 9535!

 

[Icangelp]

And 9535 used to be Swiss Radio International's in my youth, in fact SRI's -- for reception on that frequency -- was the first QSL I ever received, in 1967. RIP 9535!

I imagine you miss those Interval Signal's as much as I do. SRI had a great one.

Radio Australia's (1960's version) I.S. is my ringtone.

 

[CTListener]

I imagine you miss those Interval Signal's as much as I do. SRI had a great one.

Radio Australia's (1960's version) I.S. is my ringtone.

You liked music-box-style IS's, I see. My favorites had guitars (Radio RSA, Radio Norway) or horns (Radio Prague, Radio Budapest). The saddest IS of all, though, was that dreary nine-note horn dirge Radio Tirana played. Hard to imagine the station attracting thousands of expats longing for news from home with that soul-killing tune. But then, a lot of people desperately wanted to get out of Albania during those years and never hear about it again!