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1933. NEW ZEALAND.

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE NEW ZEALAND BROADCASTING BOARD, (FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1932.)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly in pursuance of Section 21 of the Broadcasting Act, 1931.

REPORT.

To the Honourable Adam Hamilton, Minister of Telegraphs, Wellington. SIE " As required by section 21 of the Broadcasting Act, 1931, the members of the New Zealand Broadcasting Board and took over the four stations Wellington Christchurch, and Dunedin, previously controlled by their predecessors The Radio Broadcasting Co. of New Zealand, Ltd.-on the Ist January, 1932, the transfer being effected Sm ° of coverage was deemed by the Board to be the most important of its problems, and a Commission was set up with instructions to report on the subject at the earliest practicable time Mr A Gibbs M.1.E.E., then Chief Telegraph Engineer, Post and Telegraph Department, and tTm A F Barnet't of the Scientific and Industrial Research Department, were the Commissioners and in the course of their investigations they visited some eighty towns and coveied over four thousand SXm"." to addition to steamer and train travelling. Tk, reoommendatmns of the Commission are mentioned later in this report under the heading Technical. . . It was also considered advisable to issue a questionnaire to each applicant for a receiving license and much useful information in respect of the programme side of the Service was gathered m this Way This report is furnished in two sections ; the first dealing generally with the year's activities, and the second with finance. GENERAL. Hours of Transmission. WWr +llp r> oard ass umed control of the Service, the hours of transmission were at the rate of 10 fiS annum The hours have been extended by the Board from time to time until at present 10,bl/ per annum. . • rfltp i a 484 hours per annum. Transmissions totalled ove/ISIoOoVOTrs iTlßtfTand of this time, twelve hours were lost as a result of technical faults and power failures. Programmes. Compared with similar organizations in other countries, the Board's greatest handicap on the Compared witnmm i■ | f itable relay lines to permit the relaying of programmes programme sid> is theEllington). At the request of the Board, the Post and Telegraph C±*ent KSS4 of obtaining eVpment designed to make suitable relay Department is invest & a g ility of re broadcasting direct the Wellington programmes o, f small percentag nrtiots it has been forced to the conclusion that the number of artists Dominion.

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