USA: BBG Gets FM Nod in Chad; New Reach in Bolivia, South Sudan, Serbia

From the BBG Strategy Blog:  The BBG has been awarded a license for a 24/7 FM in Chad, and VOA adds new affiliates on FM in Bolivia, on radio and TV in South Sudan, and on cable in Serbia…

BBG Obtains License for FM in Chad

After months of work, the BBG has been awarded a license for a 24/7 FM radio station in N’Djamena, Chad. The license to build and operate the station was granted by the High Communication Council.

The Voice of America’s French to Africa service will supply programming content, as will Middle Eastern Broadcasting Networks’ Radio Sawa, which will provide content in Arabic.

The station will operate at 93.1 FM, and is expected to be on air by early Summer.  The station will join other BBG FMs in African capitals such as Nairobi, Accra, Ouagadougou, and most recently, Bamako.

VOA Latin America Adds Affiliate in Bolivia

VOA Latin America has added a new affiliate in Bolivia.

Radio Azul, 99.1FM, in the city of Trinidad (pop. 130,000), plans to use VOA news delivered via the online VOA Direct portal, and is considering adding long-form programs to its lineup as well. Radio Azul manager Raúl Romero was an attendee at a recent VOA/U.S. Embassy Electronic Journalism workshop in La Paz. Romero noted that the fairly isolated community Azul serves has few sources for international news stories. He also thanked VOA for giving him guidance on web design for the station’s site, which is currently under construction.

VOA Expands Affiliate Roster in South Sudan

Voice of America has added four new affiliates to its growing roster of stations in South Sudan.

Successful satellite downlink installations were made at Radio Kuajok 99.0 FM, Radio Torit 97.5 FM and Warrap FM. The name of each radio station refers to the location the station serves. VOA has also come to agreement with Citizen TV.

The Voice of America serves South Sudan in English, which is an official language alongside Arabic.

VOA Television Adds Partner in Serbia

RTV Avax has joined the list of Voice of America television affiliates in Serbia.

The cable television station has signed on to broadcast the VOA Serbian TV Programs Otvoreni Studio and Vikend Studio. Otvoreni Studio will air Tuesdays at 10:00 pm, with a repeat on Wednesday mornings.

The Serbian cable and satellite television market is the largest among the former Yugoslav states with an estimated at 1.15 million subscribing households.

(Source: BBG Strategy Blog via BBG)