BBC Persian

Why would the text be written in a downward manner? Though common in ancient texts, its being read from left to right today.

Not any more.
Both Chinese and Japanese can be written Left->Right as well as Top->Bottom these days. Makes PC use much easier - particularly as both languages now routinely use Roman characters for entry of their Kanji/Hanji - and Katakana/Hiragana in Japanese!

The Chinese now teach their language to school kids using Roman script initially, and PinYin, which is written and read left to right - though the Japanese still usually teach using Hiragana and Katakana, which can be written both ways, as Romaji is not a good way of learning Japanese.

Many Chinese and Japanese websites are formatted left right, though you see both styles used on Japanese TV (with lower thirds running left right, but also right hand side top to bottom graphics)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/default.stm is formatted left to right...

Because BBC Arabic's graphics and titles were commissioned prior to the recent Lambie-Nairn rebrand of BBC domestic and international services, whereas BBC Alba, BBC Turkish and BBC Persian were commissioned afterwards. BBC Arabic is expected to relaunch with the Lambie-Nairn branding - but not quickly - as it is probably deemed important to let the channel "bed in" first.

Indeed, its not unusual to see graphics on Chinese television news to have the lower thirds left to right, while the name strap runs top down at the side.

Thinking about it - you can see this on the Japanese news broadcast on NHK World on Sky Digital.

I hear BBC Urdu is the next channel being planned, I just wish the Beeb if they are going to use taxpayers money actually broadcast these channels to the UK, I am sure it will be appreciated by the audience that reside here.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2009/01/bbc_world_service_eyes_launch_of_urdu_channel.html;jsessionid=8DA1500C245CDACD4E5D66AAEF8C8EBE?tmcsTrackingInfo=$lypN6Bk9K-0-wNC6uZE2WfZdWPGZ80lb5Fc5BPPJoE0T7GCKeGYpG-Kq-P-aqQ6L974sEOB-R-1$

Although it's all in the planning stages, Urdu would be tax payer's money, while a Spanish and (HA!) Mandarin service would be in partnership with 'a local operation' (or that might just be the Spanish service). English programmes for exsisting African channels are also in the pipeline.

God knows how they expect to be able to get a free speech Chinese language channel onto Chinese television!

EDIT: It also mentions plans for a Hindi channel colapsed last year after a partner quit and they want to revive those plans.

Indeed, it would be quite a challenge for the BBC to air in China. Perhaps aiming the larger global Chinese market would be more feasible.

I wonder how much of a priority it is for the BBC to launch the Urdu channel before AlJazeera Urdu, which is in the pipeline.

Yeah, yeah, I hadn't realised that eastern written language had adapted to the computer age so much!

I still don't know how their keyboards work though



I think that already exists, AIUI it's Al Jazeera Arabic service overdubbed into Urdu rather than a channel in itself

There has already been an assurance that no further radio language services will be closed during the current funding period, so there are no grant in aid funds available to open up additonal TV channels at the moment.

If funds are approved in the next spending review, then they will not be available until the 2011 financial year at the earliest - which would probably put the on air date around the beginning of 2012. Something else to slow things down is the question of where to put the studios. WS is due to move out of Bush in 2012 so building them there would be a waste of money/time, and there's no more room in Egton wing of BH to put them there.

So anything coming up before then would have to be commercially funded, and fit into the existing facilites without a vast amount of work being done to them. I can see how more programmes like the Turkish TV bulletin would be possible, but not something much bigger.

Can you imagine it ?