Editing BBC World Service (section)

===Twenty-first century===

[[File:BBC World Service red.svg|thumb|upright|BBC World Service logo used from 2008 to 2019]]

[[File:BBC World Service 2019.svg|thumb|upright|BBC World Service logo used from 2019 to 2022]]

On 25 October 2005, the BBC announced that broadcasts in [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Greek language|Greek]], Hungarian, [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], Polish, [[Slovak language|Slovak]], [[Slovene language|Slovene]] and [[Thai language|Thai]] would end by March 2006, to finance the launch in 2007 of television news services in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]].<ref name="BBC East Europe voices silenced">{{cite news |title= BBC East Europe voices silenced |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4550102.stm |access-date= 18 July 2012 |work= BBC News |date= 21 December 2005 |quote= Announcing the cuts in October, the director of the BBC World Service, Nigel Chapman, said that the European services were a beacon of free and independent information during the Cold War, but were now in decline. |archive-date= 24 December 2005 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20051224210437/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4550102.stm |url-status= live }}</ref> Additionally, [[Romanian language|Romanian]] broadcasts ceased on 1 August 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7473778.stm |title= BBC shuts down Romanian service |date= 25 June 2008 |work= BBC News |access-date= 29 July 2017 |quote= The BBC World Service is to close its Romanian language service, after 69 years of broadcasting.<br>Transmissions in Romanian will cease on 1 August. |archive-date= 3 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185334/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7473778.stm |url-status= live }}</ref>

In 2007, the last FM broadcast of [[BBC News Russian]] was discontinued at the order of the Russian government. [[Finam Holdings|Finam]] owned Bolshoye Radio, the last of three services to drop the BBC Russia broadcasts. A spokesman for the organization claimed that 'any media which is government-financed is propaganda – it's a fact, it's not negative'.<ref name="BbcOffFm">{{cite news 
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6951710.stm
| date=17 August 2007
| title=BBC radio ordered off Russian FM| access-date=18 August 2007|work=BBC News}}</ref> Reports put the development in the context of criticism of the Russian government for curbing media freedom ahead of the [[2008 Russian presidential election]].<ref name="BbcOffFm" /> [[Reporters Without Borders]] condemned the move as censorship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23321 |title=BBC dropped from Russia's FM waveband today |access-date=24 January 2014 |publisher=[[Reporters without Borders]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030180406/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23321 |archive-date=30 October 2007 }}</ref>

In 2011, BBC Kyrgyz service newsreader and producer {{ill|Arslan Koichiev|ky}} resigned from his BBC post after revelations and claims of involvement in the [[Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010|Kyrgyzstan revolution of April 2010]]. He had been based in London, but often travelled to Kyrgyzstan and used BBC resources to agitate against President [[Kurmanbek Bakiyev]], appearing on a Kyrgyz radio station under a pseudonym with a disguised voice. One of the leaders of the revolution, Aliyasbek Alymkulov, named the producer as his mentor and claimed that they had discussed preparations for the revolution.<ref name=revolt>{{cite news |date=7 April 2011 |title=BBC man quits after claims he helped to topple president in Kyrgyzstan revolt |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/bbc-man-quits-after-claims-he-helped-to-topple-president-in-kyrgyzstan-revolt-6389723.html |work=Evening Standard |location=London |access-date=5 April 2018 |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202081421/http://www.standard.co.uk/news/bbc-man-quits-after-claims-he-helped-to-topple-president-in-kyrgyzstan-revolt-6389723.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
According to London newspaper the ''[[Evening Standard]]'', "Mr Alymkulov claimed that Koichiev arranged secret meetings "through the BBC" and organised the march at the presidential palace on 7 April 2010"<ref name=revolt/>

In October 2010, the UK government announced that it was reducing the service's revenue funding by 16% and its capital funding by 52% by 2017. This necessitated over 650 staff leaving. Funding from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office would end in April 2014, when funding would mainly be from the television licence fee. From 2010, the service started transforming from a mainly radio-based operation to multi-media.<ref name=nao-20160607>{{cite web |url=https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BBC-World-Service-1.pdf |title=BBC World Service |pages=5–6 |publisher=National Audit Office |date=7 June 2016 |access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref>

In January 2011, the closure of the Albanian, Macedonian, and Serbian, as well as English for the Caribbean and Portuguese for Africa, services was announced. The British government announced that the three [[Balkans|Balkan]] countries had wide access to international information, and so broadcasts in the local languages had become unnecessary.<ref>{{cite news |title= BBC World Service to cut five language services |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12277413 |access-date= 18 July 2012 |work= BBC News |date= 26 January 2011 |archive-date= 26 January 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110126044945/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12277413 |url-status= live }}</ref> This decision reflected the financial situation the Corporation faced following transfer of responsibility for the Service from the Foreign Office, so that it would in future have been funded from within licence-fee income. The Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese and Spanish for Cuba services ceased radio broadcasting, and the Hindi, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi services ceased shortwave transmissions. As part of the 16% budget cut, 650 jobs were eliminated.<ref name="WS cuts jan 2011">{{cite news |title= BBC World Service cuts outlined to staff |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12283356 |access-date= 18 July 2012 |work= BBC News |date= 26 January 2011 |archive-date= 5 January 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120105192548/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12283356 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Plunkett |first= John |title= BBC World Service to 'cut up to 650 jobs' |url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jan/25/bbc-world-service-jobs |access-date= 18 July 2012 |newspaper= The Guardian |location= London |date= 26 January 2011 |archive-date= 21 September 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130921002915/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/jan/25/bbc-world-service-jobs |url-status= live }}</ref>

In 2012, London staff moved from [[Bush House]] to [[Broadcasting House]], so co-located with other [[BBC News]] departments. About 35% of its 1,518 full-time equivalent staff in 2014 were based overseas at 115 locations. From 2014 the service became part of [[BBC World News|World Service Group]] under the Director of BBC News and Current Affairs.<ref name=nao-20160607/>

From 2016, 1,100 additional staff were recruited as part of an expansion of the World Service, about a 70% increase, funded by the [[Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office]] providing £254 million/year for five years, partly a reversal of the government decision that the television licence fee would fund the service from 2014.<ref name=nao-20231217>{{cite web |url=https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BBC-savings-and-reforms.pdf |title=BBC savings and reform |id=HC 958 |publisher=National Audit Office |pages=s6,22 |date=17 December 2023 |access-date=18 January 2023}}</ref><ref name=holl-20221124/> This was the biggest service expansion since [[World War II]].<ref name=bbcws-20210908>{{cite web |url=https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/36976/pdf/ |title=Written evidence submitted by BBC World Service |id=TFP0035 |work=BBC World Service |via=Foreign Affairs Committee, Parliament |date=8 September 2021 |access-date=18 January 2023}}</ref>

In 2022, a new London-based China unit was in development, described by the government as "focused on exposing the challenges and realities currently facing China and its fight for global influence".<ref name=hansard-20221201/>