Shifting emphasis to media that reach younger consumers, international broadcaster Christian Vision plans to cease shortwave service to Latin America on Friday. It cites declining listenership to shortwave.
The organization, headquartered in the United Kingdom, says its programming of CVCLAVOZ, formerly Voz Cristiana, is growing via Spanish-language Christian radio affiliates in Latin America and Spain. It says it has about 413 affiliates in 23 countries and is using Internet, mobile and social platforms to increase consumption by the 18- to 35-year-old demo.
The organization in 2010 closed two shortwave sites — one in Darwin, Australia, which had served audiences in Asia in the Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia and English languages; and another in Juelich, Germany, that aired Russian, Arabic and English programs. It said it will continue to use shortwave in India and parts of Africa, “where audiences in this waveband continue to be significant.”
According to the announcement, Christian Vision purchased the property and shortwave transmission equipment in Calera de Tango, Chile, in August of 1996; it subsequently received a license from the Chilean regulator Subtel, and launched Voz Cristiana in 1998, with four radio services to Latin America.
Director of Broadcasting Andrew Flynn was the engineer who headed the Chile site in its early years. He is quoted by the organization thanking the technical team led by Antonio Reyes for helping send Christian programming to “countless millions” in Latin America via shortwave.
“For many years, Christian Vision used shortwave as the primary channel in its ‘Touch a Billion’ strategy,” he stated. “However in recent years, shortwave audiences have declined in favor of other radio platforms, and new social media powered by the Internet.”
Related:
Sackville SW Transmission Farm for Sale (RW International July 2012, digital edition)
Changes Continue for Shortwave (Oct. 2011)
