POLICY COMMITTEE
Ref: B/105.
THURSDAY 13th MARCH, 1941

B.B.C. EMPIRE AND U.S.A. INTELLIGENCE SERVICE.

1. Proposals for the formation of an adequate Intelligence Service serving the B.B.C. Empire Service have been discussed at Overseas Planning Committee. These proposals have the support of Empire Division, American Division and Broadcasting Division.

2. As a result of the reorganisation of the B.B.C. Overseas Service, dating from June 1940 when the first batch of new short-wave transmitters came into operation, the Empire Service has developed into four specialised transmissions, serving respectively North America and the West Indies, Australia and New Zealand, India and the far East, and Africa. When present plans are in full working, the Empire and U.S.A. Service will cost from five hundred to six hundred thousand pounds a year.

3. The proposals which were put to the Overseas Planning Committee are for an Intelligence Service, to cost approximately £51,000 a year, which would be capable of doing the same work for the broadcast programmes to these important and varied areas that is done by the B.B.C. European Intelligence Service for the broadcast services to Europe; that is, the work of measuring the reactions of their audiences and of producing the particular information and recommendations without which it is impossible to be certain that broadcasts are reaching their objectives.

4. The proposals have formed the subject of consultations with the Colonial and Dominions Offices and the India Office. They have been discussed with senior officials of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. While it is found that the local broadcasting authorities cannot themselves undertake or finance the work of producing the intelligence material needed by the B.B.C., they would welcome and help promote the enquiries made in their areas. No steps would be taken without their agreement: and the information collected would be at their disposal.

5. The organisational plan proposed is a headquarters unit in London and a number of intelligence representatives stationed in the regions that the Service is to cover. The headquarters unit would include the head of the Service and four Regional specialists who would analyse 407 - 2 -all the material relating to their area and would consider the interpretations and recommendations arising from that analysis. It would include also correspondence and records sections, which would deal with material obtained from the press and from publications of all kinds, from reports from Government sources and from other broadcasting organisations, from the B.B.C. Monitoring Service and Propaganda Research Unit, and from correspondence received from all parts of the Empire.

6. It is proposed that representatives abroad should be appointed as follows, for the all-important study of the audience on the spot:-

These proposals may perhaps be criticised on the score of inadequacy; it is certain that the numbers are the minimum required to make a start on the work.

7. In some of the areas to be studied, notably in the United States, Canada and Australia, and to a lesser extent in South Africa and India, there exist commercial organisations specialising in radio listener research. For some purposes the most efficient and economical way of obtaining information will be to employ these bodies for ad hoc investigations or to subscribe to their publications.

8. The cost of those proposals is approximately £51,000 a year. Of this sum, £8,830 will be required in dollars, and over this difficulty must be anticipated, since it is known that the Treasury cannot at the moment make dollar exchange available. The cost of the scheme must be viewed in relation to the cost of the B.B.C. Empire Service; it is necessary to undertake market research on an adequate scale if a product is to find its maximum distribution. After examination during the discussions at Overseas Planning Committee the total amount appeared reasonable in relation to the wide field to be covered.

9. The scheme is now submitted to Policy Committee with the approval of Overseas Planning Committee.

(Initialled) L.W.

10th March, 1941.