Station Stations · 1 min
BBC World Service
Born as the Empire Service on shortwave in 1932, it became one of the most listened-to international broadcasters in the world.
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The BBC began broadcasting overseas in 1932 with the Empire Service, sent on shortwave to listeners across the British Empire. Foreign-language services followed from 1938, starting with Arabic, and multiplied during the Second World War. The name World Service was adopted in 1965.
For decades its shortwave signal was the way many people outside Britain heard international news, including in places where domestic media were censored. Shortwave transmissions have since been reduced in many regions as listeners moved to FM partners, satellite and the internet, while some services, such as broadcasts to parts of Africa and Asia, have kept shortwave where it still reaches people other media do not.
Listening
On AuralFM the World Service's streams sit at London on the globe. On the Mac app, shortwave receivers near its target regions can pick up its remaining shortwave broadcasts when the schedule says they are on.