On December 31, 2016, after more than 80 years of operation, Vatican Radio is
being absorbed into the new Secretariat for Communications.
The move is part of Pope
Francis' reorganization of Curial offices, and is intended to make better use of
the Vatican's limited financial resources. According to Catholic World News,
broadcasting programs will continue—at least for the near-term future—but
Vatican Radio will no longer have its own corporate identity.
Today, Vatican Radio employs a
staff of 355 representing 59 nationalities, mostly lay people, who together
produce more than 66 hours of daily programming (24,117 hours annually). There
are currently 45 languages used on air, and 38 languages on the website.
Programs are broadcast via short wave, medium wave, FM and satellite.
In recent years, Vatican Radio
has experimented with digital transmission technologies (DRM, T-DAB, T-DMB).
Their news reports and bulletins have been widely distributed through
newsletters, podcasts, audio and video, paving the way to a Web TV. Vatican
Radio and CTV began their own YouTube channel in 2010, operating in four
languages, and on Twitter (6 channels).
Today with the reform of
Vatican communications operations, Vatican Radio director Msgr. Dario Vigano has
indicated that he plans to pare down short-wave radio operations. Other
broadcasts will continue, but with an eye to controlling costs: Vatican Radio
has been losing between €20 and €30 million ($21 - $31.5 million)
annually.
