Another Loss for North American Shortwave
I was saddened to learn that Radio Netherlands is ending shortwave transmissions to North America, effective October 26, 2008. Radio Netherlands was one of the first shortwave stations I ever heard and I have spent many enjoyable hours over the years listening to their programs.
I’m sure this makes sense as a business decision for Radio Netherlands, just as I’m sure it made sense for the BBC to drop shortwave broadcasts to North America. Obviously there is no station with a large enough budget to broadcast everywhere and it only makes sense to allocate limited resources to areas considered to be most important.
But it always bothers me when such a decision is presented as being best for the listeners. For instance, the Radio Netherlands site states:
Radio Netherlands Worldwide’s English broadcasts are available in North America in an increasing variety of ways. More and more partner stations are taking our programming (a growing number of NPR stations in the US and CBC in Canada) and there are now a wide range of satellite options (including Sirius satellite radio).
The programmes are also available live, on-demand and via podcast.
The number of alternatives for listeners in North America is such that we have decided to end our shortwave broadcasts to the region.
They list four different ways that people in North America can still receive Radio Netherlands:
- on the internet at http://www.radionetherlands.nl/
- on the AMC 4 satellite 24 hours a day
- as part of the CBC overnight service at 1:05 AM
- on WRN as found on the Galaxy 25 satellite or on Sirius satellite radio
Those are four legitimate options, but they don’t really compare to shortwave:
- Listening to Radio Netherlands on the internet is an option only for those people with broadband. Broadband internet is not ubiquitous, at least in the United States. Unlike shortwave radio, listening to internet radio away from a computer is not practical for most people.
- Listening to the AMC 4 satellite requires receiver hardware that most people don’t have, not to mention a clear view of the satellite.
- The CBC overnight service is an option only for people who live in Canada or near the border. It is also not very convenient, being on late overnight.
- Most people don’t have satellite receivers or satellite radios capable of receiving WRN.
Services such as Radio Netherlands and the BBC World Service are delivered for free and no one has any right to expect that they will be available indefinitely. Declining interest in shortwave means that it makes perfect sense that money previously spent on shortwave transmissions might be better spent elsewhere. But it is unrealistic to expect that cutting shortwave won’t affect many listeners.
Before the BBC ended shortwave transmissions to North America, I used to listen to the BBC World Service every day, often for several hours each day. It occurs to me that I haven’t listened to the BBC World Service a single time since then. Not because of any bad feelings on my part but because I no longer find it convenient to listen. Even long-term listening is a habit that is surprisingly easy to break.
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Tags: BBC, Radio Netherlands, Shortwave