Vatican Radio announces it will begin accepting advertising

(May 27, 2009) For the first time in its nearly 80-year history, Vatican Radio is opening up to advertising in the hopes of easing the strain on its budget, the Vatican spokesman said. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, who is also the director of Vatican Radio, told a news conference May 26 that the use of satellites and the Internet will allow the radio to overcome obstacles that had previously made advertising impossible. The question of advertising has been raised many times over the years in relation to the "significant expenses" of the radio's budget, but had been rejected "for practical reasons, not because we think advertising is bad," Father Lombardi said. With programs broadcast in about 40 languages and given the particularly religious nature of the programs, plus the fact that transmission occurred mostly by shortwave radio, Vatican Radio was "not appropriate for advertising," he said. But the use of satellites and the Internet has changed the landscape of radio transmission, and now many smaller, local Catholic-oriented stations are able to pick up and retransmit Vatican Radio programs, making advertising more feasible and attractive to potential advertisers.