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VOA, RFE/RL Azerbaijani Radio Broadcasts Debut on FM in Baku


Programs air on 101.7 FM and 1296 Khz

Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 2007 – On Jan. 1, 2007, the Azerbaijani-language services of both the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (which is known locally as Radio Azadliq) launched a new 24/7 FM broadcast stream to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. The new station, known as Baku 101.7 FM, is heard in Baku and its suburbs, which comprise 40% of Azerbaijan’s total population.

VOA and RFE/RL programming will alternate throughout the 24-hour broadcast clock, with VOA’s Azerbaijani-language service providing a daily 60-minute program including a 30-minute repeat, two 5-minute newscasts; along with VOA’s popular Music Mix, Special English, and English teaching programs. In addition to 101.7 FM in Baku and environs, VOA Azerbaijani programming can also be heard via medium wave around the country on 1296 Khz.

VOA Azerbaijani TV programs, including a 7-minute news roundup aired at 7:45 a.m. local time Monday through Friday and a weekly 15-minute magazine aired on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. local time, are also carried by Azerbaijan TV (AzTV).

Five and half hours of broadcasting on the new frequency are original programming produced by RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani service. In addition, RFE/RL produces 14 live, top-of-the-hour, 5-minute newscasts per day from Baku and Prague. More than half of the programming produced by RFE/RL for the new 24-hour stream is prepared locally in the broadcaster’s Baku bureau, including the complete morning hour that is produced live.

RFE/RL (www.azadliqiosu.az and www.rferl.org) and VOA Azerbaijani-language programming (in the Latin and Persian alphabets at www.VOANews.com/Azerbaijani and www.VOANews.com/Azeri) is also available on the Internet.

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 115 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages.

For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 203-4959, or by e-mail at publicaffairs@voa.gov.

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