BBG – No Progress in Gaining Audiences Since 2008* Despite Budget Increases
During the same period of no audience gains and budget increases, BBG executive staff oversaw major dismissals of programmers combined with growth in bureaucratic positions.
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BBG’s unduplicated weekly audience (radio, TV, Internet) in 2012 was the same as in 2008 – 175 million. No progress since 2008*
BBG’s budget increased from $668 million in 2008 to $767 million in 2012. BBG spends about $100 million more in 2012 than in 2008 to reach the same audience.
The total world population has increased by about 300 million between 2008 and 2012 and now stands at about 7 billion.
*BBG admits that it overestimated its global audience in 2011.
The lack of progress is attributed to the faulty strategic plan, poor management, and wrong interpretation of the agency’s mission.
Radio Liberty has lost about half of its online audience in Russia in the last two months in attempt to implement the faulty strategic plan.
In Kazakhstan, Radio Liberty’s effort to follow the BBG strategic plan included production of videos with highly offensive sexual content, causing an outrage among many RL website visitors in this largely Muslim nation. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty subsequently removed the videos from its websites.