BBC Tamil content now available on The Hindu website

Text content from the BBC Tamil website, bbctamil.com, is now directly available to users of the web version of The Hindu-Tamil – the Tamil daily from The Hindu group, one of India's oldest and most reputed media organisations.

Thanks to a syndication agreement between BBC World Service and The Hindu, up to ten stories from the international index of bbctamil.com are now featured on a BBC-branded section on the World page of tamil.thehindu.com

Traffic to bbctamil.com grew by around 80 percent year on year, compared to October last year. Over 70 percent of these users are in India.

BBC Tamil Editor, Thirumalai Manivannan, says: "This collaboration is an excellent development for our global audiences, especially those in Tamil Nadu. We hope that the strength of the BBC's international news coverage will bring extra benefits to the Tamil users of The Hindu website."

BBC World Service Head of Business Development, Asia Pacific, Indu Shekhar Sinha adds: "India is one of the fastest growing internet markets in the world and the expansion of the Tamil-language digital media market is part of this. We are confident that the collaboration with The Hindu-Tamil will further enhance BBC Tamil's reputation and audience."

The Hindu Tamil Editor, Asokan K, says: "The Hindu-Tamil's website tamil.thehindu.com caters to the Tamil-speaking diaspora around the globe. This collaboration with BBC Tamil will add more flavour to our audience that demands quality news".

The website bbctamil.com offers a range of content-sharing functions and has a mobile version. BBC Tamil offers 30-minute daily shortwave radio broadcasts to India and Sri Lanka. BBC Tamil also broadcasts a five-minute global update on Shakthi FM in Sri Lanka on weekdays.

BBC Tamil is part of BBC World Service.

(BBC Press Release)

BBC to move Tamil service from London to India

Prasun Sonwalkar, Hindustan Times

London, July 19, 2014

 

The popular Tamil language service of the BBC is to be moved from London to India, where it will be relocated with the BBC Hindi service, according to new plans announced to cut costs until 2017.

 

A BBC World Service spokesperson told HT: "In India, BBC Tamil has a growing audience and we believe that relocating the team with BBC Hindi – which successfully relocated to Delhi and has achieved digital and TV growth – will benefit audiences".

 

Read the HT news report at.....

 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bbc-to-move-tamil-service-from-london-to-india/article1-1242308.aspx

New BBC Tamil series chronicles Tamil film comedy

BBC Tamil is embarking on an exploration of film comedy with a new 15-part weekly radio series. From Sunday 30 March, The History Of Tamil Film Comedy will look at the origins and evolution of comedy as a dominating genre in Tamil film industry.

Based in the Southern Indian city of Chennai, the Tamil film industry is one of India's largest mass-culture institutions, alongside Mumbai-based Bollywood. From their beginnings in the silent movies and on to the 'talkies' age, Tamil films had developed a rich tradition of original comedy, with popular comedians such as N.S.Krishnan, Thangavelu, M.R.Radha, T.S.Baliah, and Nagesh, and female comediennes such as Manorama, who dominated the silver screen in the early days.

The tradition has continued, with a range of artistes firmly established in the comedy genre: Gaundamani, 'Kovai' Sarala, Vivek, Vadivel and Santhanam.

The History Of Tamil Film Comedy is produced and presented by the former BBC journalist, Sampath Kumar. "Actors, directors, comedy writers, film critics and researchers, brought together in these programmes, share their memories, helping to chronicle the amazing story of Tamil film comedy. I had a wonderful experience working on this radio series, researching a genre that has brought so much joy and entertainment to so many lives," says Kumar.

BBC programmes have explored various aspects of Tamil cinema in the past - from the impact of Tamil cinema on regional politics, to the history of Tamil film music, and the doyens of Tamil cinema.

BBC Tamil Editor, Thirumalai Manivannan, adds: "Through its nearly 100 years of vibrant history, the Tamil film industry has nurtured a uniquely original comedy tradition. Our new series highlights the fact that, as a genre, Tamil film comedy has reflected the Tamil cultural mores, occasionally drawing on the 'non-Tamil' traditions such as Hindi and Western slapstick comedy. We hope our audiences enjoy this addition to our Sunday schedule in the coming weeks."

The series will be broadcast at 15:45 GMT (21:15 Indian and Sri Lankan Standard Times) on Sundays, and will be available as podcasts online via the BBC Tamil website bbctamil.com.

The BBC Tamil radio programming is available on SW frequencies - 31, 22 and 19 metres (9500, 13830 and 15470 kHz) - and on demand via bbctamil.com which offers a range of content-sharing functions and has a mobile version. BBC Tamil is part of BBC World Service.

(BBC Press Release)

BBC World Service broadcasts in Sri Lanka on SLBC suspended

The BBC's World Service Director, Peter Horrocks, today announced the suspension of BBC broadcasts on SLBC (the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation) following continued interruption and interference of BBC Tamil programming on SLBC.

Peter Horrocks said: "We regret the disruption in service to our loyal audiences in Sri Lanka, but such targeted interference in our programmes is a serious breach of trust with those audiences, which the BBC cannot allow. We spoke to SLBC last week about interference that took place on 16-18 March and warned them they were in breach of their broadcasting agreement. Further disruption on Monday 25 March has left the BBC with no alternative but to suspend the service with immediate effect. If the SLBC have specific complaints about any BBC output they should take them with us, as we have invited them to do and not interfere directly with broadcasts in ways that are unacceptable to the BBC and misleading to our audiences."

The BBC took similar action in 2009 when its services were also disrupted. Audiences in Sri Lanka can continue to listen to the BBC on Shortwave and via our online services.

BBC Tamil

25 meterband (11965 kHz)

31 meterband (9855 kHz)

49 meterband (6135 kHz)

41 meterband (7600 kHz)

BBC Sinhalese

49 meterband (6135 kHz)

31 meterband (9615 kHz)

41 meterband (7699 kHz)

BBC World Service English content is broadcast on SLBC at GMT - 0300 to 0430; 1130 to 1230 and 1330 to 1430 (all GMT)

And via our websites:

bbc.com/news

bbc.co.uk/tamil/

bbc.co.uk/sinhala/

(Press Release)

BBC re-launches Tamil website

BBC world service on Wednesday re-launched its Tamil website, with new design and features, including enhanced content-sharing functions, a mobile version and an access to archived radio programmes.
Revamped bbctamil.com has a wider format, featuring more convenient and detailed content categorisation. Enhanced with ability to host video stories, the site also features image galleries, a press release from BBC said.

Full story at : http://www.thehindu.com/news/article2343899.ece

Radio Hello 106.4 FM to air BBC's Tamil programming

Mumbai, Maharashtra, IND, 2009-08-18 14:44:00 (IndiaPRwire.com)

The BBC’s special Tamil-language programming tailored for India’s FM market will now be available to audiences of Radio Hello 106.4 FM across Tamil Nadu, thanks to a partnership agreement signed between BBC World Service and Radio Hello 106.4 FM.Radio Hello 106.4 FM is part of the Malar Publications Group and is the largest FM radio network in Tamil Nadu.The partnership means that Radio Hello 106.4 FMwill rebroadcast the content produced by BBC World Service’s Tamil FM team, including regular as well as topical programming. The BBC will launch its availability on Radio Hello 106.4 FM with AR Rahman Special which will include an exclusive interview with the composer who won two Oscar awards for his Slumdog Millionaire music. Regular BBC programmes on Radio Hello will include:

·Hello Nimisham, BBC VishayamHourly updates on sports and entertainment from 7 am to 10 pm, seven days a week

·Hello Wind-up, BBC Round-upWeekly show on the latest film releases, film news, behind-the-scenes stories and star interviews

·Hello Game-Zone, BBC Play-TimeWeekly show on the latest sporting action from around the world.

All this content is also available for listening via the website www.bbctamil.com

Neil Curry, Head of Business Development, Asia and Pacific Region, BBC World Service, comments: “We are delighted with our partnership with Radio Hello 106.4 FM. With this association, audiences across Tamil Nadu will be able to listen to a fantastic range of BBC World Service programming on FM, which will not just entertain but also engage our audiences, offering them many ways to interact.”The BBC’s special output for India’s FM market includes infotainment updates in Hindi and Tamil languages.This programming is available via partner stations in India: Radio One in Delhi, Mumbai,Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Pune; Radio Choklate in Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack and Rourkela; Hello Radio106.4in Chennai,Kovai, Madurai, Trichy, Nellai, Tuticorin and Puducherry; Radio Tadka in Jaipur and Udaipur; Radio Tomato in Kolhapur; Radio Misty in Siliguri and Gangtok; Radio Chaska in Gwalior; and Radio Rangila in Raipur. It is also available via Radio Spice in Dubai, UAE; and in the US via HumDesi Radio in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Jose and Washington DC.

http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/entertainment/2009081831672.htm

BBC Tamil launches morning news programme

To meet the increased flow of news about the situation in Sri Lanka and the general election in India, the BBC's Tamil service, BBC Tamilosai, has launched a 10-day special morning news programme. The special 15-minute programme will be broadcast from 07.00 Sri Lankan and Indian Standard Times every day until Wednesday 20 May. The programme is broadcast on 19 (15285 kHz) and 16 (17515 kHz) meters on shortwave and is also available via the website bbctamil.com as a special audio folder for diaspora listeners. Head of BBC Tamil, Thirumalai Manivannan, comments: "With events unfolding in Sri Lanka, as well as the general election in India, the BBC Tamil team feels that it's vital to keep our audiences up to date with latest developments outside our normal daily half-hour broadcasts at 15.45 GMT (21.15 Sri Lankan and Indian Standard Times). "As we have done in the past, we decided to add this special morning programme to our news output, to ensure our radio and online audiences are kept fully informed about developments which are directly affecting them."
BBC Tamilosai is one of the 32 language and regional services broadcast by BBC World Service. BBC Tamilosai offers a daily programme of news, current affairs and features broadcast at 15.45-16.15 GMT (21.15-21.45 Indian Standard Time and Sri Lanka time), providing an essential global insight to listeners in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu in India, and across the world. BBC Tamilosai is broadcast across Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in India via shortwave. The BBC's special Tamil-language info-tainment output for India's FM market includes sports, business and showbiz bulletins and is available in Chennai via partner station, Radio One. Tamil-speakers across the world can access BBC Tamil programmes in text and in audio at bbctamil.com.

(BBC World Service Publicity)