BBC to close down Grand Anse relay station |23 November 2013

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced that its Indian Ocean relay station at Grand Anse will cease all operations as of March 29, 2014.
The announcement was made by the head of distribution of BBC Global News Nigel Fry, during a press conference at the station on Thursday morning.
According to Mr Fry, the decision to close the site has been taken due to changing commercial and technological circumstances.

He has explained that as countries develop and their media markets open, listening and viewing habits have changed. New technology has thus changed the way audiences follow BBC programmes, shifting to other media such as the internet, television and FM radio. This has reduced the importance of relay stations, making them commercially unviable.

Established in 1988 and in continuous service since then, the Grand Anse station relays BBC broadcasts to audiences in east Africa primarily in English and Somali. The closure will however not affect the availability of BBC programmes in Seychelles, as they are relayed by satellite on to local FM frequencies of 106.2, 105.6 and 105.2MHz. For other areas of east Africa which are still dependent on relay stations, Mr Fry has explained that the signal will be supplied by other stations.

The BBC has also announced that relay stations will remain operational in regions and markets where listening remains strong and BBC services can be delivered efficiently to large geographic areas. For example, the Somali audience can be reached from Oman.

The closure of the station, however, means that the 11-strong staff will be automatically made redundant. The BBC has indicated that it will provide support to staff in their quest of new employment and will train them in other fields if necessary. The company is also studying the possibility of a re-placement programme with possible overseas placement for some workers.

Questioned about the future of the station site, Mr Fry said that the structures will be pulled down in order to make the area safe, and the scrap will be sold through a tender process. As the land belongs to the Seychelles government, discussions will be held with the Ministry of Land Use and Housing to determine its future use.