BBC ends Arabic Radio service

The BBC's Arabic Radio aired its last broadcast on Friday, ending 85 years of programming on the network's first foreign-language service - one depended on by millions of listeners.

The broadcaster has been cutting its Arabic radio service as part of a cost-cutting measure that will also end radio services in 10 other languages, including Persian, Chinese and Hindi. According to a September statement from the company, the downsizing will cut 382 jobs.

The BBC said there was a main reason behind the cuts, which was a need to save nearly 30 million pounds about $35 million, as part of a larger annual savings of 500 million pounds $617 million in Steep inflation and an ongoing funding dispute between the BBC and the British government. In 2022 a British cabinet member overseeing the network froze increases to the annual licensing fees that make up three-fourths of the BBC's annual funding.

The broadcasters'leaders also said that the demands of an increasingly digital media landscape preceded their decision to scale down radio services. According to a spokeswoman for BBC World Service, 12 percent of the total audience listens to radio programming and 5 percent listens to it only on radio, while BBC Arabic content reaches 39 million people per week.