VOA Ukrainian Branch may lose simulcast in Ukraine (04/13/97)

VOA Ukrainian Branch may lose simulcast in Ukraine

by Irene Jarosewich

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Within the next few months the Ukrainian Branch of Voice of America is slated to drop its simulcast into Ukraine, and return to primarily short-wave transmission of its programming. The current VOA budget does not have funds to cover the increase in broadcast fees being stipulated by the National Council of Radio and Television Broadcasting (NCRTB) of Ukraine.

At present, VOA's Ukrainian Branch, which celebrated 47 years of broadcasting into Ukraine in December 1996, broadcasts daily for two hours and reaches an audience of close to 2 million listeners on a regular basis. According to reports from the Prague-based Open Media Research Institute (OMRI), approximately 60 percent of those who listen to VOA broadcasts in Ukraine receive the broadcasts on simulcast through AM radio stations or cable radio; the rest still rely on short-wave.

Radio programs are broadcast in several ways. Middle- and long-wave (AM and FM) broadcasts send radio signals to individual receivers, a typical radio on which a listener turns the dial and selects a radio station that is on a specific, numbered band. Such AM and FM radio signals require that a large transmitter be relatively near the listener.

Short-wave radio signals can travel longer distances, transmitters can be located at a greater distance from the listener, and the signals require more sensitive receivers (short-wave radios) than standard radios. During the Cold War era, VOA relied exclusively on short-wave transmission to bypass Soviet transmitters. In turn, the Soviet Union tried to distort, or jam, VOA signals so that individual listeners could not accept that signal. In fact, purchasing and/or owning a short-wave radio receiver was a clandestine affair in the former Soviet Union, for which a listener could be fined or jailed.

In order to more directly provide information, or propaganda, to its citizens, the Soviet state maintained a third system of radio transmission - cable radio - in which individual village houses and city apartments were hard-wired to receive government radio programs. Similar to cable television, a box with two or three push-buttons that connected directly to government radio programs was installed in many homes, most often in the kitchen or central hallway. In Ukraine, 12 million households are still equipped with cable radio capability, thanks to Soviet planners.

For a broadcaster who wants to reach a general audience, AM, FM or the cable radio network is considered to be a better choice than short-wave: it's easier for the listener and the transmission quality and reception are better than short-wave, though these choices are more expensive.

In the case of AM, FM or cable radio transmission, somebody is the middleman, a government or private business that owns the transmission equipment and takes money for its use in the form of broadcast fees and licenses. In short-wave radio, basically there is no middleman between sender and receiver. In Ukraine, with the exception of a few independent radio stations, the primary middleman or broker for airtime is the Ukrainian government.

Only a few years ago VOA applauded the ability to broadcast to more people in Ukraine via simulcast instead of shortwave as a huge step in the process of post-Cold War relations. However, improved access means increased costs - approximately $250,000 annually in broadcast fees that are determined by the National Council on Radio and Television Broadcasting (NCRTB) of Ukraine.

According to Sherwood Demitz, director of the Eurasia Division at Voice of America in Washington, "We think the most recent increase in fees is a big mistake: every Ukrainian official has told us how valuable VOA presence is to reach Ukrainian people with ideas and information that they need to make the transition to a civil democratic market-oriented society. In strictly financial terms, we think that it is extremely short-sighted for the NCRTB of Ukraine to insist on rate hikes."

OMRI reports about Ukraine indicate that the most popular foreign broadcast is Radio Liberty, followed closely by VOA, which is ahead of Radio Canada and the BBC. The most common reason cited by listeners for tuning in VOA was to learn the official U.S. point of view with respect to Ukraine.

"Respondents believed that Ukraine's future will be linked closely to foreign policy the United States pursues toward Ukraine and Russia. ... special interest [was] expressed [in] how the U.S. and other Western powers interpret Moscow's actions with regard to the 'near abroad'," a July 1995 OMRI survey report stated.

Though VOA may feel that the fees for the broadcast time are too high, others feel that Ukrainian airtime is suddenly and rapidly becoming a valuable commodity for which they're willing to pay.

As reported in the Eastern Europe Reporter of September 23, 1996, a publication of the Bureau of National Affairs in Washington, Central European Media Enterprises, a major owner of television prime time in Ukraine, predicts that combined revenues from radio, television and print media advertising will more than double from a figure of $15 million in 1995 to more than $35 million this year.

Several years ago the media market in Russia went through a similarly rapid and chaotic growth spurt. Ultimately the fees that were demanded by the Russian government for VOA broadcasts could not be justified within the agency's budget. Instead of going through the government-managed cable radio systems, VOA has pursued a policy to approach new, independent radio stations in the NIS. The independent station would receive a satellite dish and set-up from VOA in order to directly receive programming; in turn, the stations producers agree to broadcast VOA. In the past several years VOA has signed up approximately 300 stations throughout Russia.

Though this is a less expensive approach for VOA (a one-time cost of satellite dish and set-up for approximately $5,000 per station, instead of annual fees), the number of listeners, the quality of the transmissions and the length of the programs are all greatly reduced as well.

Mr. Demitz still has hopes that the NCRTB will reconsider the fees. However, the agency is prepared to drop all simulcast and return to short-wave, even though the number of listeners will drop by 60 percent.

VOA also has plans to pursue independent radio stations in Ukraine for short-range simulcast to supplement the short-wave transmissions, though, according to Mr. Demitz, the process of developing one-on-one relationships with independent radio stations is time-consuming. Out of 50 independent stations in Ukraine, six thus far have agreed to sign a contract with VOA.

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