(en anglais seulement) 

At its meeting on 6th June 2006, YLE Administrative Council decided to adjust the company’s channel structure and profiles and new services. This move relates to the ongoing YLE strategy reform, founded on a customer- and content-based operating model. YLE’s strategic objectives were approved by the company’s Administrative Council already earlier in the spring.

Channels and services in line with strategy

In accordance with the strategy, channels and new services shall meet the four basic tasks of public service. They shall provide information contents and enriching experience programmes, reliable supply of information and Finnish presence, distinctive inspiring (stimulating) popular culture, and an extensive independent service in Swedish.

Under the YLE2010 strategy, the following special objectives have been set for the channels:

-  to respond to tougher audience and customer competition;
-  to improve co-ordination of overall YLE output, and output directed at various sub-audiences;
-  to implement YLE’s minority and diversity strategy;
-  to make it easier to find YLE services through integrated channel profiles;
-  to promote use of multimedia and clarify new services;
-  to improve promotion of inspiring entertainment;
-  to develop multimedia in children’s programmes.

A new national talk radio

YLE Radio Peili is to be expanded into YLE’s fourth, Finnish-language, national radio network. YLE Radio Peili is the channel for news and current affairs programmes and for factual speech, that carries and adapts both radio and television programmes.

More diversified digital television output

YLE is to launch digital YLE Extra, a special channel of live events, live broadcasts, popular culture and sports events. The television channel will approach its themes using multimedia and interactively, and collaborate with YleX, YLE Radio Extrem and broadband services.

New services

The programming of YLE radio and television channels forms the framework which internet, broadband and mobile network services are based on. In future, some of the radio and television channels will also as such be available on the new means of distribution. Some of the new services will be built solely for the needs of the new service platforms, in which case they will not as such be available in traditional radio or television distribution.

More search and on-demand services

In future, YLE will be supplying various search and on-demand services in wired and wireless broadband networks. In the autumn of 2006, YLE  Living Archive  will be opened, initially comprising approx. 150 hours of old films and television programmes as well as 550 hours of radio programmes from the last century. A corresponding service in Swedish will be launched at the same time. In 2007, the YLE.fi user interface will be updated (given a new look) and an on-demand service for audio and video contents is due to be launched, along with YLE recording sales.

Broadband services will be developed in the next few years for children, young people and young adults in particular. Internet and broadband services in Swedish will be developed through their own svenska.yle.fi portal as part of the company as a whole.

The following existing channels will be phased out as a consequence of the changes in channel output:

The pilot digital radio service YleQ will be closed down at the latest on 31st December 2006.

The digital television channel YLE24, comprising mainly news and current affairs programmes, will be shut down on 31st May 2007. Capacity released from the channel in digital television’s public service multiplex will be used for transmitting the new YLE Extra channel.

YLE will focus in future on serving Finns abroad through satellite, mobile and internet distribution. The company will therefore be discontinuing MW and SW broadcasts from Pori in 2007. However, medium-wave broadcasts will still continue on the Santahamina
(Helsinki) transmitters in the Baltic Sea area.

For more information, please contact:

Chairman of the Administrative Council 
Mika Lintilä
tel: 050 511 3080 

Director General
Mikael Jungner
tel: 050 554 1615

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