Re: [Swprograms] Deutsche Welle hits hard times... to close services

["Ted S." <fedya@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Richard Cuff graced hard-core-dx.com with these words of wisdom:

> That last paragraph was particularly telling...
> 
> Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA  USA
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Daniel Say" <say@xxxxxx>
> To: <swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 12:48 PM
> Subject: [Swprograms] Deutsche Welle hits hard times... to close
> services 
> 
> 
><snip>
> 
> For years here the red pencil rages - nevertheless the
> proclamation of the transmitter failed never particularly
> ....
> 

That's not a particularly good translation, being from Babelfish.  :-)  If 
I read it correctly, it should be translated that DW has been under 
financial pressure for years, but there hasn't been that much of an outcry 
because they've had "reserves".  (My guess is that there must have been 
some thought that the DW-staff was bloated.)  They've cut staff by 45% in 
the past 10 years.

The important paragraph is this one:

>    Bei dem Treffen soll es nach WELT-Informationen neben der Situation
>    der Deutschen Welle auch um die Zukunft von German TV gehen. German
>    TV ist ein seit 2002 von ARD, ZDF und Deutscher Welle gesendetes
>    deutsches Auslandsprogramm, das Zuschauer in den USA als
>    Bezahlsender abonnieren können. Die Bundesregierung will German TV
>    einstellen. 

My (rough) translation:

At the [November 11] meeting [among DW, ARD, and ZDF -- the latter two 
being Germany's two domestic national TV broadcasters] there will be not 
only a discussion of the sitaution at Deutsche Welle, but also the future 
of German TV.  German TV is a satellite rebroadcaster of programs from DW, 
the ARD, and ZDF which has been operating since 2002, and to which viewers 
in the USA can pay to subscribe.  The Government would like to close down 
German TV.

My opinion:

I don't think *this* is such a bad thing.  They probably *should* close 
down German TV.  The ultra-premium access channel (the one time I looked 
at the cost, I saw mention of $10/mo for *just this one channel*) doesn't 
seem like a particularly good financial model for a German-language 
channel in the States.  There really aren't that many German speakers here 
in the US.  Whether or not you like BBC America, it seems to have done a 
better job of getting itself access into households.

(Now if the Tennis Channel would do the same thing....)

-- 
Ted <fedya at bestweb dot net>
Barney: Hey, Homer, you're late for English.
Homer: Who needs English?  I'm never going to England.  
<http://www.snpp.com/episodes/7F12.html>
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