Radio Extrem spared, TV channel Extra to be axed in YLE cost-cutting operation

News departments in public broadcaster to be merged

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The Swedish-language radio channel Radio Extrem was spared the axe of cost-cutters of the public service broadcaster, the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. Instead, the Finnish and Swedish-language news departments of YLE are to be merged.
      The Administrative Council of YLE decided that one of YLE's television channels, YLE Extra, will be closed, and its programmes are to be shifted onto other channels. The council also decided to cancel plans to expand the Radio Peili radio channel nationwide.
     
The most unexpected decision was that from the beginning of next year, YLE will start broadcasting programmes of TV1 on two channels. It will use the channel left free by Extra for broadcasts of TV1 programming, with the difference that subtitles will be "burned" onto the picture so that they will be visible with all digital decoders.
      After the move to digital broadcasting, some problems with subtitles for foreign language programming emerged, with the subtitling not showing up with some decoder models.
      However, the simulcasting will last only for a year, after which the channel will start relaying SVT Europe from Sweden.
     
YLE embarked on a new programme of cost cuts after the real costs of the digitalisation of television was revealed.
      This year about 20,000 Finns have cancelled their television licences. The total number of licence fee payers has declined by more than 50,000 from last year,. During the same time, about EUR 10 million has disappeared from the YLE budget.
      YLE Director General Mikael Jungner says that the cancellation of the expansion of Radio Peili will bring savings of EUR one million, and giving SVT Europe a channel will bring another million in savings.
     
Jungner hopes that merging the Finnish and Swedish language news departments will bring EUR 1.5 million in savings. However, the Administrative Council did not give its approval to the move at its Tuesday meeting. The matter is to be discussed at the next meeting in December.


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