shortWWWave

After years of threats, it looks like Israel's international shortwave broadcaster, Kol Israel, will cease shortwave broadcasts of all languages other than Farsi on March 31st.

English, French and Spanish broadcasts can continue to be heard over the internet, with the following schedule:

Time (UTC)	Language
0430-0445	English
0445-0500	French
1030-1045	English
1100-1115	French
1800-1815	French
1815-1830	Spanish
1830-1845	English

The Israel Broadcast Authority (IBA) website still carries the for the last two days of broadcasts. If you're interested in catching them, the English schedule is:

Time (UTC)	Frequency
0430-0445	9345, 7545, 17600
1030-1045	15760, 13855
1830-1845	6985, 7545, 15640, 9345

The IBA also operates a number of domestic radio networks, which are available to international listeners via the internet:

• Reshet Aleph: talk and cultural programming


• Reshet Bet: news, current affairs and sport


• Reshet Gimmel: Israeli music


• Reshet Dalet: Arabic language station

The BBC has announced that it will be closing shortwave transmissions to the Carribean and reducing transmissions to East and South-East Asia, from March 23rd and March 30th, respectively.

There will no longer be any shortwave broadcasts to East and South-East between 10am and 5pm, and midnight and 2am, local time. Listeners are expected to use satellite, the internet or local FM repeaters, although we're not quite sure how they are supposed to do this if they're hiking through a remote jungle.

The BBC have started a publicly funded Arabic language international TV service, which is freely available on satellite and cable within the Middle East and North Africa.

Currently it will broadcast for just twelve hours a day, from 1000 UTC to 2200 UTC, but the intention is to run a 24-hour service later in the year. Funding for the station is from a government grant and savings made by closing the BBC World Service's Eastern European radio services.

The station's website can be found at bbcarabic.com.

The Australian Financial Review newspaper is reporting today that the Nine Network's High Definition service will begin multichannel programming on Monday March 17th.

Nine's rivals, the Seven and Ten networks, started their own HD multichannel services at the end of 2007, but Nine has been going through a number of difficulties with management and poorly-rating programs in recent times, has been slow to follow suit.

When launched, the service will consist of time shifted programming from its main channel, in addition to new programming. It remains to be seen how much the HD channel will differ from the existing standard definition broadcasts; Seven and Ten's HD services have been somewhat disappointing, with separate programming confined mostly to late nights.

The article also mentions that all three networks are planning for their second standard definition services, which will be allowed to air from January 2009, under current Australian broadcasting legislation.

Previously: Ten HD launches in Australia and Seven Network Commences multichannelling