I’m sure this move makes financial sense for Radio Netherlands, just as I’m sure dropping shortwave broadcasts to North America made financial sense for the BBC. There are no broadcasters with budgets large enough to transmit to everywhere in the world and it only makes sense to allocate limited resources to areas deemed most important. But it’s still sad to watch the steady decline of shortwave services to North America.

The Radio Netherlands website puts a positive spin on the move:

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 do list four different ways for North Americans to continue to listen to Radio Netherlands:

1. on the internet at http://www.radionetherlands.nl/
2. on the AMC 4 satellite 24 hours a day
3. as part of the CBC overnight service at 1:05 AM
4. on WRN as found on the Galaxy 25 satellite or on Sirius satellite radio

Unfortunately, no single option is a perfect alternative to shortwave and each has disadvantages:

1. Listening to Radio Netherlands on the internet is pretty close to a perfect alternative, but only for those with broadband internet access. Broadband internet is increasingly common, but not ubiquitous.
2. Listening to the AMC 4 satellite requires receiver hardware that most people don’t have, not to mention a clear view of the satellite.
3. The CBC overnight service is an option only for those who live in Canada or near the border. The late-night schedule is also not very convenient.
4. Most people don’t have satellite receivers or satellite radios capable of receiving WRN.

One of the disagreements between WLIW-TV and the BBC seems to have involved whether PBS stations would be allowed to air "BBC World News" at 7:00PM, the same time as on the BBC America channel. Since many stations play it immediately following The Newshour with Jim Lehrer (which is an hour long and normally airs at 6:00PM), this would seem to be a problem. The BBC seems focused lately on building up the audience of BBC America, even at the expense of the audience for their programs on PBS stations.

Another disagreement involved the plans of WLIW-TV to insert segments into the "BBC World News" thought to be better suited to an American audience. The BBC refused to allow this. I agree with the BBC on that one; if I watch "BBC World News", then I want to see the real thing, not an edited version.

In the past, the BBC has spent large sums of money revamping their image, sometimes with controversial results. Through the magic of the internet, you can see many of the results for yourself. The best examples I have found are on TV & Radio Bits.

For instance, in 2001 the BBC spent £700,000 for a widely disliked series of idents for BBC1 which aired from 2002 to 2006. In 2006, they spent £1.2m for eight idents for BBC1 that are still airing. A better remembered series are the balloon idents which ran from 1997 to 2002. They seem to have cost the BBC around £700,000, but they were part of a broader revamp which cost £5.5m.

At one time, BBC America used shorter versions of the balloon idents with slightly different music. I liked them, and thought that they added a touch of class to the channel.