Radio Sweden will terminate its mediumwave and shortwave broadcasts on 31 October in favour of Web services – with Swedish Radio management stating that is the best use of resources and in line with international trends. The English-language service is to continue on the Web and on national broadcasts. The Russian output will be available on the web as is the German now.
Among the immigrant languages, Albanian, Assyrian-Syriac and Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian are to be terminated on the same date. Meanwhile, Arabic and Somali – the largest immigrant language groups in Sweden at present – are to be boosted. The same applies to Romani – one of Sweden’s five official minority languages.
The Persian service will include Dari spoken by the rapidly increasing number of Afghan refugees coming to Sweden. Kurdish broadcasts remain unchanged.
Swedish Radio’s output in immigrant languages will be available on the Web and broadcast nationally.
(Source: Radio Sweden)
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 09:57
Sounds like a wise move, to keep the station relevant, especially at times of financial belt-tightening all-round. Think SBS etc in Australia.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 10:12
This is will be a sad day for shortwave. As it is, shortwave seems to be dominated by high power American evangelicals.
A more serious issue is that it seems easy for governments to block foreign websites. China and Iran come to mind.
Finally, people in many second and third world nations do not have widespread access to the Internet. Shortwave is still a prime means for them to get access to features and news from other countries.
R. Sweden has always produced high quality programming in its different languages and it will be a shame to see its audience limited to those of us with Internet access.
jolyon curran, santa barbara, ca
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 10:35
Another great SW broadcaster caves in to modern technology as Radio Sweden decides to end its shortwave broadcasts. I’m sure there are other stations to listen to but then again the number of countries that offer good news and informational programming continues to dwindle… maybe in 10 years shortwave will be of less interest, especially when internet radios are more widely available, are portable (maybe) and are easier to operate (intuitive) than a PC.
We in the US can hear Radio Sweden at various times over WRN via Sirius channel 140; one of those airings is at 1900 UT (3pm EDT).
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 10:47
Not everybody has internet or wants to listen to SR International online,this is a selfish move.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 11:52
A sad day for shortwave
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 12:01
In China they are producing millions of small multiband recievers, pocket size.
So far they are in production there are listners.Millions of them.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 12:44
Sounds like they should also change the name too. In order to be succesful in the markets they have chosen, they will have to do more than just make linear radio programmes - probably thematic driven dossiers like RFE/RL does. If its just a list of radio programmes and a streaming service then it will disappear further into the noise. Radio Sweden has also suffered from the fact that they have no access to the video material being captured by SVT, with radio and TV always being thought of as strictly separate services.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 13:58
Talked to a designers of cell phones and a cell phone network, like mobile internet radio it will crash down if all people are forced to listen to web radio.
The operators wll charge you of downloading of radio programs.
Even if big power stations of mediumwave will disappear, there will be other power stations like 1 - 50 kW instead.
The EU law allows everyone who wants to broadcast on, long, mediumwave, shortwave to have a licence. It’s free to use in every EU country. Every frequency. Every broadcasting band. You will allways get more listners on AM, than via the net. A small local AM or regional AM will always get listeners if the format is correct.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 14:25
So another SW station bites the dust. So sad. R Sweden was one of the first stations I logged when I started DXing back in the late 50’s. In fact, it was the first station that sent me a QSL card. China is manufacturing millions of SW radios, but who will be able to use them in a few years, if there are no stations on the air by then?
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 14:27
Radio Swedens Bill Schiller talks to the lady responsible for SW & MW broadcasts at SR on todays (Wednesday) half-hour in English. I heard it at 1330 UT on 7405 kHz but will no doubt be included in all their upcoming transmissions today, and to listen to via the website later today.
I was hopeful when they said English would continue on national radio, this would include 1179 kHz, but suspect it means FM only?
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 15:06
Jonathan said it best.
Also I want to add. Radio Sweden was very slow to embrace new platforms. I remember when RNW first went online it was only texted based. But when hey added audio it opened the door to listeners they may not have had before.
We all know SW is going the way of the dodo bird. Stations like Radio Sweden and others have a great opportunity to broaden their audience. There is no point of spending millions of Euros for an audience that is so tiny.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 15:12
For all those complaining about SR leaving shortwave, the reason a lot of broadcasters have abandoned SW is the number of listeners has fallen dramatically. The BBC Worldservice made it quite clear when it stopped SW transmissions to the USA that their research showed more people there were listening to the internet streams so it wasn’t economically viable. After all, SW broadcasting is not cheap to maintain.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 15:45
MW1179kHz should stay;it provides Europeans with a chance to hear SR International’s English Service at a reasonable time in the evening.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 16:46
Sad Day. Gone are The Saturday Show and Sweden Calling DXers but a clear voice is always needed for balance in reporting. How do you listen after the earthquake? How do you listen in the Jungle? So Sweden drops off the map of influence. Not getting its message to the world. Not promoting itself to potential visitors (Always did want to visit Umea some time ??can still sing the song Sidney Carlson sung) But maybe one day I will stand outside 10510 and remember when Sweden was one of my top listening stations. The move to internet only is just a step to oblivion like SRI and others. Has no budget so let??s cut it completely.
Even the French recognised they need a voice in the world and even in English too.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 16:58
You are free to replace the big networks om SW with your own SW radiostation in EU. perhaps this is the future of SW, relay of your AM/FM station on SW.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 17:05
It should be pointed out that some broadcasters, such as RNW, carry out ongoing research to make sure we are as up-to-date as possible with listener trends and forecasts. I am not sure how much research Radio Sweden does, but they have used their German service to trial replacing radio programmes with podcasts, and I imagine that it’s the results of this trial that have persuaded their management to make the switch for the other languages.
Radio Sweden has quite a different mission statement to ours at RNW. We took the initiative of updating our mission statement for foreign languages to focus on providing news and information to countries with limits on press freedom. That means much of Africa & Latin America and parts of Asia. It also means that Europe and North America are no longer considered ‘key targets’. People in those regions who are interested in our output can access it via the Web. Those who refuse to listen via the Internet are entitled to make that decision, but cannot expect us to spend a vast amount of public money providing an alternative platform just for them. For the countries with limited press freedom, we will continue to use shortwave because for obvious reasons it’s difficult (and unreliable) to get local programme placements, and people in those countries are more likely to tune to shortwave.
Radio Sweden chose several decades ago to abandon international news coverage and focus on Sweden and Scandinavia, which it does very well. But it’s hard to justify the expense of broadcasting news about Sweden to people who are extremely unlikely ever to visit the country, or do business with it. In the days before Internet, listening to Radio Sweden was probably the only way to get information about what was going on in that country - now there are hundreds, if not thousands, of websites to choose from. It’s therefore harder for Radio Sweden to stand out from the crowd.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 18:52
Perhaps it’s a case of short term loss and long term gain. It’s always sad when a way of life bites the dust; I remember my mum complaining when the 78 rpm record went out and got replaced by the new-fangled 45 rpm plastic record.
Today it is reported that it looks like the end of the lighthouse draws near as most ships use radio navigation techniques nowadays, and that’s a massive great piece of nostalgia and history gone.
So it is with the internet taking over from shortwave, but only a few years down the line youngsters will scoff at the old fashioned voices of dissent and won’t be able to understand a generation which preferred the crackling fading mono low audio bandwidth of shortwave to the almost perfect stereo sound of a webstream.
on Mar 17th, 2010 at 21:57
Steven,you are sadly wrong, internet alone doesnt get as many listeners as other platform and you are blinkered and sadly mistaken for thinking that. satellite delivery which radio sweden also utilizes,allows millions of listeners across europe and beyond to hear perfect digital quality of radio sweden broadcasts along with internet on demand audio,satellite delivery of radio sweden perfectly compliments online delivery and should be maintained with it. And dont even think of saying that will go in favour of internet because it probably won’t.
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 00:15
Here is something I do not understand. If shortwave broadcasting is out of date, why are the broadcasting bands so overcrowded? Broadcasters have to use channels in the utillity bands to find a clear channel.
The Radio Sweden management is shooting themselves in the foot. Shortwave is not expensive to broadcast if you calculate covered area per kilowatt, also you do not depend on infra structure in the target area. For dictatorships the Internet is easy to control or switch off, but you can not confiscate radio waves. It is a very unwise decision.
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 12:55
I think the problem is the SW audience is getting older and older and not growing. In the 80s there was lots of growth in this medium, but since the internet started streaming both audio and video the hunger for program content has been growing very fast.
If I look at Happy Station audience, of which I am leaving SW March 25th. The vast majority of my listeners 98% download the shows or listen to the live stream. The other 2% listen off shortwave.
The letters say it all 2% of all letters I receiver from March 2009 to March 2010 were from dxers who sent in reception reports asking for a QSL card. But the rest were from listeners who never owned a SW radio, but they owned or planned to buy a wifi set. If I want to grow Happy Station and the other PCJ shows I can’t do it with SW.
If you look at cost. Running high powered 100kw and 250kw transmitters is not cheep. There are so many costs involved.
As for dictatorships. If you look at the broadcasters that have there sites blocked who are they? In China for example: Voice Of America (Chinese site), BBC (Chinese Site), Radio Free Asia, Voice Of Tibet, Radio Falun Dafa, and Radio Taiwan International. But the sites for DW, RNW, RFI, VOR, Radio Sweden and others are no blocked. Next thing you need to know is people in China don’t listen to SW for news and information. Maybe in the country side where there is no AM or FM relay, people use SW to listen to CNR 1. If people want international news the one area that has been booming in China since around 2005 is satellite. You can buy a black market satellite dish for around 50USD and listen or watch any international broadcaster. Last year when I was in Ho Hot, Inner Mongolia I stayed in a small village for a few days. Every night people were tuning in to BBC and VOA off satellite and then watching TV news from Hong Kong, and Singapore.
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 13:29
Thanks for the background Keith. Your findings don’t surprise me, but are nevertheless welcome because it confirms our own research which led to the decision to drop our shortwave service to North America. Despite this, the 2% who listen on shortwave are very vocal, and some of them refuse to accept that they are now in a very small minority, at least in the developed world.
At RNW we are cutting back on shortwave, but we have no plans to drop it completely as the areas which are now our key targets - see message #16 - are still difficult or impossible to reach on any other platform. Some international broadcasters have decided to focus on having their own FM stations in major cities, especially in Africa, but at RNW we are more concerned about reaching the people who live in smaller places out of reach of the FM signals. These are the people most in need of news and information from international broadcasters.
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 13:39
The 2% as you said is very vocal. Not that I don’t support shortwave, but for the audience I want to reach, just as RNW and others you need focus. I stopped issuing PCJ QSL cards a while about. Let say I was tired of getting letters that said “man spoke 0104UT, music 0106UT, women spoke 0110UT”. This normally followed by please send me. As an announcer once said many years ago on Finnish radio “We are a radio station. Not a supermarket”. lol
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 13:51
Yes, many years ago I was involved with World Music Radio, and we got reports like that. The thing was, all our programmes followed a similar format, so anyone could write that sort of report based on something they saw in a DX bulletin. I am sure some of the reception reports we got were not genuine, based on expected propagation. I briefly did some of the QSLing for the station, but the quality of the reports - even from some well-known names in the hobby at the time - was so low that I actually became disillusioned with QSLing. Some people received letters from me saying that they had provided insufficient details to prove they’d heard us - I’m sure that made me very popular
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 15:49
I think that’s the key to these decisions - it’s the opinion of the majority of listeners in the target audience, not the complaints of a few DX nerds
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 18:07
Trouble with computers is they can have little niggles: software corruption, slow connection speeds and go they go obsolete fast.40 old shortwave radios can still receive broadcasts. You couldn’t say that a 15 year old PC would be able to run software today.
You have to switch on the PC, which is a pain compared to using a radio, which is instant, needs no software upgrades and is cheap to run.
That’s what attracted me to shortwave radio in the first place, to start with as a hobby: the equipment is cheap, lasts for years, no hard disks to corrupt or go wrong and running costs are minimal.
If you are listening online, then it would cut into any data allowance you might receive. I only have mobile broadband at home with a 3GB monthly allowance, so my on-line listening is somewhat limited unless I use the free wi-fi available.
I think Radio Sweden has shot themselves in the foot.
They could have at least kept shortwave for Africa and Asia, where in many places fast internet connections for online listening are in short supply. Money is also needed for the necessary hardware and a reliable electricity grid to power them.
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 19:14
The podcast that will replace the radio broadcast will be of variable duration, and probably shorter than the current radio programme. Apparently the German service podcast averages about 15 minutes. I’m not sure about the English programmes on the domestic service, but presumably they are different from the ones currently on shortwave. And the number of staff is going to be reduced, as it was in the German service, by not replacing those who retire. So there won’t be a half-hour daily programme to keep on shortwave
It isn’t necessary to use a PC to receive Internet programmes - that’s what Internet radios are for. We have recently tested some at RNW…an older review is already available at
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/com-one-phoenix-wifi-internet-radio-modern-way-listen-international-broadcasts
on Mar 18th, 2010 at 23:18
i use short wave for news and information,of the type you never get on local tv/radio.take pyongyang for instance,here in melbourne we get 1 hour of english daily at excellent quality,(the signal i mean) try that on ANY other means.
i will miss radio sweden,the trouble with shutting down a service completly is all your audience loses interest in your country completely.take swiss radio for instance.i tuned to them daily when on sw.i have NEVER even tried since they went net only, and i hear that offering is on the slippery slope.
i have visited r sweden,staying with old arne skoog,on the same trip we went to hilversum,twr in monaco, and the bbc ws.
All due to my interest in sw. so the rgument that listeners don’t visit these countries just does not cut it.
on Mar 19th, 2010 at 06:40
Does Voice Of Korea have news and information? Every time I tune in I get nothing but the great achievements of the Dear and Great leader Kim Sung Il and Kim Jung Il.
Again no one pays attention to VOK from Pyongyang except for a small handful of dxers. If the DPRK was not as political as it is, I bet you anything they would also drop SW. But having been to the DPRK I know the thinking. Which is if the US and UK have the VOA and BBC, the DPRK which is a strong country (in their eyes) needs to VOK to counter their message of aggression, but no one pays attention.
Countries like the DPRK, Republic Of Mongolia, Cuba think they have an important place, but the reality is they don’t. Look who listens? Do you think people in Africa, Asia or in parts of Latin America who still listen to SW because they need to are going to tune to them for news and information? No! But who will they turn to? In French Africa Radio France, English Africa VOA, BBC ect ect same goes for other regions.
When i was in Indonesia last year to attend a local SWL meeting in Jakarta we talked about these stations, and the response was the same from everyone. Why?
With Radio Sweden dropping SW the only areas I hear he complaining from are where SW is nothing more than a DX hobby. If for example Radio Sweden is so important for listeners lets say in Africa people would say something. Mind you if the BBC World Service or Radio France International or other medium size broadcasters would announce they were dropping Africa I can assure you people would be writing to the Embassies.
on Mar 19th, 2010 at 07:38
This story has certainly attracted a lot of comments.
As the days, months and years go by, it seems my childhood interest and hobby is being relegated to the dustbin of history. The shortwave Titanic appears to be in the final minutes before it becomes completely submerged. And although some of us romantically try to hang on to it before it is lost, we are losing our grip and slowly coming to realise that the dream is over. We have to let go, difficult as it may be. Not even DRM would appear to be its saviour. After ten long years of testing, receivers are still extremely thin on the ground, and very few of us use DRM software to listen to the broadcasts that are few and far between. DRM came too late, and the Internet got the upper hand.
All we have now are memories.
Internet killed the radio star.
on Mar 19th, 2010 at 08:13
So far the market is selling multiband radios, here are lot of listners of shortwave around the world. 30 years ago a SW TX costed € 80 € per hours for a few kW station. Today you can get a 100 kW SW airtime for that price or even much less. A 600 kW mediumwave for € 200 €/hour.
A mulitband radio you can get for € 10 - 20 €.
On a webbradio is few 100 listners. it’s limited to a certan numbers of listners, SW is not. Webb radios have difficulties to sell ads, they need to go out on the broadcasting bands to survive.
on Mar 19th, 2010 at 10:27
Roberts still do shortwave sets as do Sangean so it isn’t dead yet.
on Mar 19th, 2010 at 10:49
Roberts radios are made for them by Sangean. And late last year Sangean slowed down production of all there SW sets. Once the stock they have is sold out, none of them will be replaced.
on Mar 20th, 2010 at 12:55
Re. #26: In fact it was this staff reduction that primarily brough the German broadcasts to an end. With three editors left they were simply no longer able to put a daily 30 minutes programme together. And this situation arose when the former head of the German service left, stating that he did not see a future here, and SR International got no permission to fill the vacated job position again.
Another interesting aspect: SR stated that the number of listeners for Radio Sweden in German has dramatically decreased (in general, not related to particular distribution platforms, i.e. this does not appear to be the MW/SW matter). One editor asked the head of SR International for the source of this information, since no recent research activities were known. Well, the asked manager did not know either.
Are the English broadcasts on 89.6 MHz in Stockholm really different from the internationally distributed ones? If indeed I would not count on the latter to continue, which concerns in particular the use of other distribution platforms like WRN.
Finally I would also not expect SR International to further maintain the “Radio Sweden” brand at all. It would make no sense anymore.
on Mar 20th, 2010 at 13:47
It seems that the Russian service broadcasts the same programs on 89.6 FM as on SW/MW. It sounds like R.Sweden won’t have any podcasts in Russian, only online text service. At least that’s how it’s presented for now.
They did confirm that Russian won’t be on local FM anymore since there are ‘much more important languages out there.’ The head of the External Service Ingemar Lofgren also said that Russian Dept. will be made equal to German Dept. as both are reaching out to important neighboring countries.
Curiously, the Russian Service states that RS’s External Service currently broadcasts in Russian and English only while the English Service adds German to this list.
on Mar 21st, 2010 at 14:59
How sad to lose one of the international top class broadcasters like Radio Sweden. But that is a direct consequence after pumping in huge sums of money in the non starting DAB-project. Now the bottom of the money coffin shines through and those crazy Swedes lose their nerves and throws out the baby with the bathwater. In stead they should make cuts in the overgrown bureaucratic superstructure and continue to do what they are supposed to do - to broadcast. And now they think we want to be chained to our computers to listen.
on Mar 21st, 2010 at 15:15
I think at lot of the comments here are just becoming hysterical. For all those who seem to think it\’s the end of the world and SR is making a catastrophic mistake, can you point to listening figures for short-wave that clearly show a healthy listenership? I don\’t think you can. However, I think SR have the figures and I suspect they don\’t look good - hence them abandoning short-wave for entirely sensible reasons.
on Mar 21st, 2010 at 16:56
could we please have more comments from listeners outside of Europe and North America, and maybe in different languages? So often the opinions seem to be voiced by listeners in countries with more internet than you could shake a stick at.
Of course I listen on internet, the noise from all the computers, fluorescent lighting and electricity lines outside my home have precluded listening to shortwave for decades. First world pollution!
The real audiences are in the developing world. The science, health, technology and social affairs have real relevance there. Drive south of Tijuana, AM, FM and Internet disappear very quickly. Radio when it reappears is usually alot of cheap advertisements separated by a few songs or mindless political chatter. Internet is slow in the towns where you can find it. Satellite and shortwave offer the only reprise - and don\’t bother looking for quality programming on the Mexican satellite stations - they can\’t afford the quality that we have in Europe or North America.
jolyon curran, santa barbara, california
on Mar 21st, 2010 at 20:11
Nothing else than long, medium, shortwave got the coverage of the surface of this planet. Whereever you are, with a multi band radio, you are able to pic up radiostations with the latest news. On the mountains, on the sea, in the desert. Sw radio is there.
The new design of small PLL pocket recievers is the new era of radio listning.
Crank up radios with SW is comming up on the market.
There haven\’t been so many diffent modell od pocket Sw radio in the world like today. More and more cheaper, better and better quality.
To Mr Johansen, Sweden roll out dab+ after 14th of June with 1500 licence.
Roll out new am,sw licences due to the new law of radio in EU.
You are free to rebroadcast your AM/FM/DAB+ programs with your own transmitter or run speciall service on SW.
SW IS NOT DEAD and one SW every second is in production of reciever and selling.
Millions of new pocket radio with PLL selling every year.
on Mar 21st, 2010 at 23:39
Where are your facts to back up this claim? “SW IS NOT DEAD and one SW every second is in production of reciever and selling. Millions of new pocket radio with PLL selling every year.”
Two of the worlds largest radio manufactures are Tecsun based in Guangzhou and Dongguan, China and Sangean based in Taiwan with production plants in Zounghe, Taipei County and Guangzhou, China.
First for Sangean. In 1990 SW radios accounted for almost 70% of their sales worldwide. In 2010 sales of SW radios by Sangean accounted for 2%. The last SW radio to come off a production line at Sangean was in 2006. Once their stock of SW radios is sold out no more will be made. Sangean use to make SW radios for Sony, Panasonic, Radio Shack along with other brands. At the moment all Roberts radios are made by Sangean at their production plant in China. It may interest you to know that some of the parts in the Sony ICF2010 were made by Sangean.
Second for Tecsun. Tecsun manufactures radios for Eton. All the Grundig radios you see on the market are infact Tecsun radios. Tecsun just moved recently into a new production plant. And guess what? The shortwave production line has ceased. They just like Sangean are selling off the remaining stock. Radios like the Green-88 (or Grundig FR200) have stopped production 3 years ago. The models being sold off now are what you would call new old stock. Same with all other Grundig branded models. The rest of these sets are being sold off to second and third parties. In 2007 Tecsun was told by the State Council Of Business of the PRC to focus on newer types of radios and that and line that does not sell is to cease production. Tecsun is a SOE (State Owned Company). 2009 figures show SW radio sales account for less than 7% of their total output.
Third for Red Sun. Another manufacture of SW receivers is Red Sun (partially owned by Tecsun). Their SW production line has been silent since 2005. Many of their radios were sold as CCrain. Just like Sangean and Tecsun they are selling off their stock. Once sold thats it.
One of the reasons we have see so many SW radios on the market in the last few years is because the companies I mentioned are selling off all the sets they have. Why are they so cheap? Well in Tecsun’s case they are almost selling them at cost. Sangean case is different. They are a private company owned by a family that has built up a reputation as a quality radio maker and they don’t want to undersell them.
I freelance for Sangean from time to time and have done for for almost 3 years, I know the staff. They would be very interesting to find out how you came up with sales figures different from there own. As for Tecsun I only know 2 people who work for the company, one of them use to work in the technical department at China Radio International. He’s now the director of the QC department, the other is a woman who use to work for an advertising agency in Beijing and no heads the Tecsun sales and marketing department.
So please tell me where you got these facts. I’m very interested.
on Mar 22nd, 2010 at 01:45
How many SW radios was sold totally last year then? Would be interesting to see year by year statistics since 1990 or so.
on Mar 22nd, 2010 at 03:08
This is very hard to know unless that are from the makers themselves. If they sell there old new stock to second or third parties there is no tracking in many cases. Sangean & Tecsun go by how many of there radios sold both under there own names and by the names of companies they supply. Both these two companies are abandoning shortwave. All they are doing is following the market and listener trends.
For Sangean they have seen a major drop since the Gulf war. After networks like CNN International and other 24 hour satellite networks came on it dropped like a stone. What also made sales figures drop for them was wifi sets. For every SW radio they sell, they sell 30 wifi radios.
Sangean’s big sellers are in order:
DAB Radio - UK is their number one market
DAB +
Regular FM only receivers
HD
Regular AM/FM receivers
Utility Radio AM/FM
Clock Radio AM/FM or FM only (in some countries sold under the Philips name)
At the bottom of the list is SW sets. The ATS606A is sold out. The only ones left are ATS 662, ATS 404, ATS 505, ATS 909. But once stock on these is gone they won’t be replaced.
Sangean already closed their R&D department for SW.
on Mar 24th, 2010 at 02:13
So there is no reliable sales statics for how many SW radios sold worldwide last year?
But the interesting question for a broadcaster must be how many SW radios there are out there already. Must be a billion or so, I have seen such figures.
Your argument about the two large manufacturers cutting down production of SW radios is nonsense. Ford and General Motors have drastically cut down production – Conclusion: Nobody is driving cars any more . . .
on Mar 24th, 2010 at 03:28
Sangean’s SW production line has stopped. The sales figures did not justify to keep it producing product. Once Sangean and Tecsun stock on SW receivers is gone no more be produced. And it was not an argument, it’s a fact. Both these companies have been losing money on there SW models. So it makes sense, if it cost money to keep it going and sales are low cut it.
The only reliable sales stats from Sangean and Tecsun are on units shipped from there own warehouse, which i already posted above.
Sangean sales of SW radios was 2%. Here is the number of units moved last year as per my conversation with Li Shan Wei in the finance department 30mins ago. These numbers account for radios sold to retailers in 2009
SW
ATS909 - 27 units sold
ATS505P - 31 units sold
ATS404 - 14 units sold
The PT models sold in total 18
Just to compare to WIFI sets for example.
WIFI-Internet Radio
WFR1 - 2412
WFR20 - 1309
WFT1 - 1298
RCR8WF - 4076 (most popular because of price)
Tecsun less than 7%. I’m in China next week and will be meeting with the sales department on Wednesday. I can get those figures then.
Your example of Ford and GM is very different.
on Mar 24th, 2010 at 07:13
There are 100 dreds of models and a half dozen producers.
Mini orders are 1000 - 50000 pcs.
In every radio schack you will see multiband radios in their catalouge too.
Lot of them are new models.
The censorships in most countries is to internet, so the way out is a multiband radio the get international news and fact.
If there is no listners on SW, no stations any more , but it is overcrowded of stations.
Wi FI radio is a relay of your own internet radio only.
on Mar 24th, 2010 at 09:28
I recogonize these discussions about leaving the short- and mediumwave from the late 1970\’s/early 1980\’s when the old mediumwave transmitters built in the 1950\’s had to be replaced, large amount of maintance and upgrade. They said few people were listening to the stations but they didn\’t bring the argument that the fishermen and people in the neighbour contries ex. tha Baltic states were listening to the stations. So they created a reason to shut down these transmitters and demolish into pieces. Internet can\’t be used everywhere. There aren\’t internet connection, cellphone covering or telephone everywhere. The FM-transmissions reaches to the horizon + 30%.
I got this answer from Radio Sweden Internationall today after I had written to them.
\\\\\\\\
on Mar 24th, 2010 at 22:59
Keith; you wrote in #43 regarding my example in #42:
“Your example of Ford and GM is very different.”
In what way is there a difference?
on Mar 25th, 2010 at 01:41
First a car is different than a radio.
Second they stopped production and are selling off remaining stock.
Third there are other means of distribution am/fm/satellite/internet.
I repeat: The only reliable sales stats from Sangean and Tecsun are on units shipped from there own warehouse, which i already posted above.
Sangean sales of SW radios was 2%. Here is the number of units moved last year as per my conversation with Li Shan Wei in the finance department 30mins ago. These numbers account for radios sold (or shipped) to retailers in 2009.
SW
ATS909 - 27 units sold
ATS505P - 31 units sold
ATS404 - 14 units sold
The PT models sold in total 18
Just to compare to WIFI sets for example.
WIFI-Internet Radio
WFR1 - 2412
WFR20 - 1309
WFT1 - 1298
RCR8WF - 4076 (most popular because of price)
Do you think the auto industry keeps tabs on used cars? No.
These are sales figures from Sangeans own sales.
on Mar 26th, 2010 at 00:39
That the market is saturated for the Sangean\’s SW receivers at this time has nothing to do with how many people using SW receivers that was already sold over many years. Sangean is too expensive.
The Internet is a very well-developed in Sweden. I checked the statistics and 75% of the people listening to the radio, but only 4% use the web. I am not surprised.
on Mar 26th, 2010 at 02:48
The stats you checked:
Is that 75% SW or FM?
The fact is the DXERS just don’t want where DXING was popular that the SW is dead. They are just clinging on living in a dream world like some broadcasters are thinking it’s the best way to reach the audience. Yes SW still plays an important role in some regions of the world. Even in Africa your seeing many communities tuning in more to local community radio on FM than SW. But yet DXERS keep dreaming.
on Mar 26th, 2010 at 20:36
TNS SIFO National Swedish Survey 2010-01-15 09:00 - All results relating to average day Monday-Sunday throughout the population and studied aged 9-79 years - 75.2 per cent of the population listens to radio at least five minutes during an average day, representing 5 891 100 persons aged 9-79 years - 4.4 percent of the population listens to radio via the web at least five minutes during an average day, which represents 341 000 persons aged 9-79 years.
—– Via the web —–
2010 I 4,4 percent
2009 IV 3,8 percent
2009 III 4,8 percent
2009 II 3,7 percent
2009 I 3,5 percent
2008 IV 3,4 percent
2008 III 3,0 percent
2008 II 3,5 percent
————————–
As you can see, there is not much interest to listening to the internet; most people prefer real radio. Further more; there is not much positive trend.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 03:30
My question still stands. Is the 75% FM/AM or SW?
And Don I never said i was anti-shortwave. Shortwave as I have said and continue to say still has an important role in under developed nations and in the developing world. Africa is a good case in point of where shortwave is still very important, as with some parts of Asia and Latin America and the Pacific. But for countries that are already developed like the US, Canada, Germany, France, Nethelands, Belgium, and other countries in Europe or Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and a few others it’s not needed.
TNS SIFO National Swedish Survey 2010-01-15 09:00 - All results relating to average day Monday-Sunday throughout the population and studied aged 9-79 years - 75.2 per cent of the population listens to radio at least five minutes during an average day, representing 5 891 100 persons aged 9-79 years - 4.4 percent of the population listens to radio via the web at least five minutes during an average day, which represents 341 000 persons aged 9-79 years.
—– Via the web —–
2010 I 4,4 percent
2009 IV 3,8 percent
2009 III 4,8 percent
2009 II 3,7 percent
2009 I 3,5 percent
2008 IV 3,4 percent
2008 III 3,0 percent
2008 II 3,5 percent
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 06:39
I think the point is not how many Swede’s listen via the web. Radio Sweden’s target is not People in Sweden.
How many people listen to radio via the web in Laos, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe or even Indonesia?
Tony
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 07:19
I can only speak for Indonesia and Kenya. But in Indonesia when I was there last year finding a SW radio walking in any market place was easy. The selection you had was very wide. 3 taxis I took even had the shortwave bands on there car radio. Speaking with the taxi drivers if they listen they said often. Mostly to the BBC or Voice Of America. Even if you walk around some of the busier parks or some communities in Jakarta you will find people sitting in the street listening to SW, not just international broadcasters, but also domestic stations that use SW to reach the surrounding islands. One of the local papers in Jakarta publishes a weekly radio guide including stations on SW.
In Kenya when we drove outside Nairobi the capitol into the country side it was very interesting. I was amazed talking to people who was illiterate, but knew the frequencies and times for VOA, BBC, and Radio France International. Even in Nairobi, but not as many outside the city. In one community where we stayed for 2 days, in the evening locals would gather together 15 sometimes 40 people to listen to music, news and sports programs from the BBC. Every radio I saw was not the new digital ones we are use to, but instead old held together by tape in some cases old style radios with dials with the face plate missing.
Like I said earlier SW is still an important broadcast medium, but these days it has become important for regions that are less developed.
But for areas like Western Europe, North America and a few others if you ask anyone under 40 to even name some international broadcaster I would bet any money that maybe a few (very few) would say BBC. But that would be about it.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 11:43
Daily I get info from manufactory\’s of multiband radios of new offers of whole sales in big stocks. Lot of new modells. One simple conclusion, big stocks in massproduction in a production line daily. There are a massproduction of recievers of SW. Millions buys a multiband radio every year.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 12:11
I have deleted comments from Don Rhodes and Colin Miller since one included a personal attack on another contributor, something which is not allowed on any of the RNW websites. Please stick to discussing the issues, not personalities.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 12:37
Although my earlier comments wrote off SW to the dustbin of history, I must admit I did that through western eyes. Certainly it is still being used in developing countries, since internet services are not of the speed or price tag we enjoy in the developed world, and I guess the internet is not accessible at all in many places.
As for receivers, it would appear that all the big names are dropping out or have dropped out of the market since they can see the way things are heading. However, there are numerous startup companies producing sets. Indeed, the only set I own that works is a rebadged clone from China, bought about 2 years ago for roughly US$100 from my local electronics hobby shop. It gives outstanding performance for the price. In addition to analogue reception I use it to decode DRM, since it has an IF output on the back.
Having said all this, it’s hard to see how broadcasters could ever return to SW. So many have dismantled their transmitters and masts, or drastically reduced services, all starting on that fateful day in 2001 when BBCWS cut North America and the Pacific off their map.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 13:55
Luke, did you see vinyl records coming back? It all started in the US:
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/18/entertainment/et-vinyl18
And now vinyl is picking up in Europe, too. Of course, it’s a niche media but nonetheless…
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 16:14
Vinyl is a natural dynamic audio and your ears are analouge, not digital.
The new era of retro radio design in wooden even has am,fm ,6-band shortwave. After 1 of August everyone can apply to a long, medium, shortwave licence in Sweden according to the EU law of freedom of speach.
perhaps we will get more relays of am stations on shortwave with a power from 10 kW insted
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 16:17
Roy I agree with you that there are many receivers on the market. The area in China where over 90% of electronics are made come from Dongguan prefecture in Guangdong and going to China often and have been to the main plant operated by Tescun the only ones there to have a SW production line I can tell you it’s silent. The stock being sold are in a warehouse in Wanjiang District. They have not just a few hundred, but millions to get rid of. Some of them which are considered as new models in Europe or North America have been on the China market for more than 8 years. The owners of the factory even told me if a receiver is picked up overseas the only thing they do is stamp a recent date on it and thats it. But as they told me not just once but many times, once this stock is all gone no more will be made. The company which is state owed has been given a new directive from the government.
You know the Tecsun BCL3000 (there is also a Grundig model). the last one to role off the assembly line was in 2002 in China. But so many were made to get a new one is easy. This is how state owned enterprises in China operate.
I can give you an example not related to radio. The Nancheng Aircraft Company back in the mid 1950s started making motorcycles based on the old BMW R71. After WW2 the Ural company helped the Chinese to make these. From around the mid 50s until 1999 they made millions. Production stopped. But guess what they still have millions in stock which anyone can buy new for 1000USD in China, for overseas more. As for parts, not to worry so many millions of parts were made you would only need to worry where to get them from in 20 years.
The point I’m trying to make is because some company in the US or Europe is buying them and selling them as a let’s say new model, it’s highly unlikely it’s new. All these companies in the west do is buy stock these companies have and that’s it. Once I asked someone at Tecsun what do you do if someone from the US or Europe wants to come over and see your production line in motion. He said “oh that’s very easy, we bring some staff from another department. Have them look like there building radios. And once the foreigner has left we shut it down again”. I know it sounds silly. But in China and Chinese state companies you can not use the Western mind set to understand them.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 17:11
Why are new modells and design comming up to me every week???
It cost a lot to design a new model and if there are no market any more, why design new models?? I was intuch with a polish whole sale agency and he is selling a lot of multiband radios, even with crank up to resellers.
A multiband radio is so cheap to buy, let\’s see the future, webb radio or a broadcasting radio in all bands????
The best info and news you will allways get from the broadcasting bands.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 17:15
BMW R71, where can I buy them??? If the price is 1000UDS , let’s buy a container !!!
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 18:29
in China the R71 or Ural version is the CJ750.
http://www.cj750.net/
The factory that makes them like the receivers we were talking about is stocked to the hilt.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 18:32
But export prices are higher than if you buy in China.
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 20:00
ok, looks nice and it’s included a sw radio, too??
on Mar 27th, 2010 at 23:21
SRG, yes I know about the vinyl situation. In fact I have a turntable and even some new pressings of old classics. I give them a spin now and then though I concede digital is about a thousand times more convenient.
I’m a bit old fashioned in that I tend to hang on to older technology because of its maturity. I recently bought a second hand high-end CRT television for very little money, just because I still think it’s better than the new kids on the block in many respects. It’s a 36′ widescreen and I feed it with progressive input. Beautiful picture. And until recently I was still using my film SLR camera on special occasions but it has broken down. Film is getting a little scarce too, since everyone is going digital, so I will retire it and have to move on to a digital SLR.
The old vs new, analogue vs digital argument really doesn’t work too well, because they both have their pros and cons, but I digress…
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 00:51
It is an absolute fake argument to say that the production of new SW radios is directly linked to how many that are actually listing to SW radios. It\’s a completely natural thing to be forced to halt production of the SW receivers when the state factories in China have performed a huge overproduction and overfilled their warehouses. “They have not just a few hundred, but millions to get rid of.” This happens with countries as China that is not using market-based economy but a “planned economy”.
We do not know if the DEMAND for SW radios has gone down, you and nobody else seems to have these figures. Those figures may well have been constant over the years.
So now the Chinese are dumping the radios cheaply in huge quantities. This is a good thing for SW broadcasting as many more people can afford to buy one.
Mr.Perron you must give us the world wide SALES figures year by year lets say from 20 years back to prove your claims.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 09:19
If shortwave broadcasting is not in decline, how come Larry Magne - who has promoted shortwave to the exclusion of all other media for 25 years - made the decision to stop producing Passport to World Band Radio, admitting that sales and advertising had collapsed? Are you saying that Larry, one of the world’s leading experts on shortwave broadcasting, doesn’t know what he is talking about?
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 09:30
Andy, all traditional media are in decline - no question about that. In the past we used to be worried that young people are watching too much TV. Now many teenagers don’t watch TV at all. They are into social media that don’t leave much space for traditional ‘professional’ journalism.
Note the paper-based delivery of news and data is even more threatened than SW radio. No wonder Larry had to shut down his venture.
In the US many newspapers, magazines and other printer periodicals have already folded or switched to online-only delivery. Can you name a single US-based SW station that stopped broadcasting during last three years? Nope. Actually, new SW stations are being set up. And that’s despite anti-SW legislation. Imagine if the US laws could be adjusted in terms of minimal power and signal beams?! We’d see a major SW renaissance in that part of the world.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 12:03
You can buy small stocks of multiband radios by agencies on the net,but if you want big stocks of MOQ of 500 - 1000 you have to wait for the production wich is a week or two. To add SW on a standard radio cost some USD a unit only. SW is a standard in a radio reciever, SW is a broadcasting band, like AM,FM;DAB+.
Just recieved a flyer from a big warehouse and a Denver AM,FM ,SW band 1 - 7 for the price of 89:- SEK. SW is now a free broadcasting band like AM/FM/DAB/DRM in Europe.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 14:02
“Can you name a single US-based SW station that stopped broadcasting during last three years? Nope.” — Ha! KTBN, WBOH. What about KAIJ? And KJES is almost dead if I recall correct.
But the actual question is: How many listeners have all these private shortwave stations in the USA? And I mean listeners, not persons sending in reception reports. I have a feeling that this is a world of its own than can live without the world out there. And the same could be true to many US mediumwave stations.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 15:42
Go to http://www.fmscan.org and SW and USA and lot of stations broadcasting from USA to the world.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 17:26
Yes, Kai, I totally forgot about KTBN. It closed down exactly 2 years ago. WBOH morphed into continued 24×7 operation of WTJC - those were sister stations. KAIJ did promise to be back (I believe they had some ownership-related issues). KJES, the Lord’s Station, has run a rather erratic operation from the very beginning. Is it now formally off the air?
The US SW stations have quite a few listeners. Whenever they give out a live phone number there are listeners’ calls - sometime many of them. Of course, the key is to have a good coverage of the US territory which goes against the current broadcasting law. SW is a niche broadcasting in N.America. And yes, it’s the world of its own.
on Mar 31st, 2010 at 00:09
Andy Sennitt wrote about Larry Magne who admitted that sales and advertising had collapsed for his publication “Passport to World Band Radio”.
Let us analyze more about this. Who where his clients? Where are they living?
My guess is that most of these people are living in North America and if you want to use his publication as an indicator of how many is listening to shortwave; then it is only for that particular geographical area.
on Mar 31st, 2010 at 09:29
The number of SWLs is dropping worldwide, also in parts of Africa. All the surveys carried out in the past five years by international broadcasters show the same trend. Generally it is in the major cities, where there are now commercial FM stations playing local music. Getting news from abroad is done by mobile phone applications in some countries. Members of our staff visit a lot of our target countries during the course of the year, and keep a close watch on trends.
Having said that, there are still large rural areas of Africa, parts of Latin America and South Asia, where the local people don’t have that choice of stations, and are often out of reach of mobile phone networks. In some cases, they can’t even hear their national broadcaster clearly. These are the people for whom a shortwave service is still necessary.
Posts in this blog and elsewhere about the number of shortwave radios in the world are meaningless as an indication of how many people are listening. I have several radios that receive shortwave, but I rarely use them nowadays. A lot of people like to have a shortwave radio in the house in case it is ever needed - remember Hurricane Katrina - but they’re not listening to shortwave on a regular basis.
How many people have a VCR and never use it because they have moved on to DVDs? I know I do. As for China, Deutsche Welle has just published its plan for 2010-2013 and it says the daily use of shortwave in China is 0.5 percent, and less than a quarter of all households in China even own a radio. But 0.5 percent of China’s population is still millions of people, so in terms of raw numbers it can justify the amount it spends on shortwave. But it puts some of the claims that have been made in this thread into perspective.
If you can understand German, it’s at
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5381479,00.html - thanks to Kai Kudwig via the DXLD mailing list for the tip.
on Mar 31st, 2010 at 09:57
How many people never watch TV because they moved to DVDs? How many never listen to their radio because they got an MP3 player? How many people gave up on the newspapers and professional news websites because they get more than enough from their Facebook and Twitter accounts?
SW broadcasting is just a tiny part of the rapidly changing traditional media scene.
on Mar 31st, 2010 at 11:01
Talked to the ware house selling multiband radio, why they are selling again..
Last year they sold a coulpe of 1000 radios and was sold out in a week.
This week they started a campaign again and dubble the number of multiband recievers this year. Easy to sell for this price 89SEK.
on Apr 5th, 2010 at 01:56
Radio Sweden will sadly be missedon shortwave.I can barely hear RNW otherwise.I had many fond memories of RS\’s good programming such as thier News and Current affairs output that were directed to North america,but direct from Sweden instead of The Sackville relay currently in use til RS\’s demise on Halloween,2010. I remember getting a postcard of ABBA from them and nice stickers and pennants,i even bought a\
on Apr 16th, 2010 at 14:18
I have a different perspective. I used to listen to shortwave a lot. I got heavily into timer recording and listening to cassette tapes while traveling on the bus and in the car. Now I use the internet. For the usual reasons. I have access, the sound quality and reception is superior and, of course, not much is on shortwave to North America any more except the boring and offensive religious broadcasters. Where I really miss it is when I am away from computer/internet access while traveling. Especially when I go to Sweden and I am stuck out in the countryside for extended periods. I used to be able to listen to English programs on shortwave all day (BBC, Radio Netherlands, VOA, AFRTS, etc.). Now I am in total isolation: no newspapers, no FM (only in Stockholm at odd hours of the day), no Shortwave. Admittedly I represent a small audience, but perhaps much of the English services could be consolidated into one or two round the clock very strong transmitters covering Europe, North America, etc. to save money and yet retain the availability. It used to be such a pleasure to be able to go out to a park, for example and have a small shortwave radio to listen to even there and be able to get BBC or something at times of the day when there was nothing to listen to on domestic radio, even on the public stations which have turned to non-stop talk radio in many cases. I haven\\\’t tried wi-fi radio but that depends on deep pockets and wireless web access for access outside the home, except for free wi-fi here and there. Something to consider…..
on Jun 17th, 2011 at 13:19
The last part of the 3 x 500kW’s SW transmitters shipped in seven ISO 40″ft, the two last cont. trucked yesterday away to the new destination, RNW site.