BBC Urdu has highest radio reach among international broadcasters in Pakistan

The BBC's new Urdu TV programme Sairbeen has built a weekly TV audience of 5.6 million since it launched on Pakistan's Aaj News channel, a new survey has found. BBC Urdu also has the highest reach on radio among international broadcasters in Pakistan.

Sairbeen was launched in its current format in March 2014 and is broadcast Monday to Friday. In addition to the impressive audience, Sairbeen has also reinforced the BBC's reputation for trust. Niney four percent of viewers who were surveyed saw it as trustworthy. The programme is also seen as relevant and good at providing a Pakistani perspective on big global events (80 percent).

Streamed live and available on demand online via bbcurdu.com, Sairbeen TV programme can also be watched on BBC Urdu channel on YouTube. The dramatic, tenfold increase in views on this channel over the past year is largely due to the programme's popularity, while exclusive interviews and a dedicated mobile offering have also contributed. Although YouTube is blocked in Pakistan, a large proportion of BBC Urdu viewers are still watching in that country.

On radio the survey found that more people tune in to the BBC Urdu radio in Pakistan than to any other international radio broadcaster. The survey also found that the BBC continues to be considered the most trusted, relevant and objective international broadcaster in Pakistan.

BBC Urdu's online presence has also seen a significant growth the last year, with peaks during major local and international stories. The number of users coming to bbcurdu.com via social media has grown threefold over the last year*. With over 2.9 million followers, the BBC Urdu page on Facebook has nearly tripled over the same period.

BBC Urdu Editor Aamer Ahmed Khan comments: "The survey findings and the latest digital stats summarise a very productive period for the BBC Urdu content on all platforms. Sairbeen TV programme is bringing us a very valued new audience via Aaj News channel. Our radio programming continues to be essential listening for international news-seekers across Pakistan – and our online and social-media presence is rapidly growing, connecting us with new, younger audiences. And all this is underpinned by trust in the BBC's output. These are very reassuring and inspiring findings."

BBC Urdu is part of BBC World Service.

(Press Release)

BBC Urdu radio now available on mobile phones via AudioBoo app

BBC Urdu has further strengthened its mobile offer by making its flagship radio programme, Sairbeen, available as a free app via the audio-sharing channel, AudioBoo on audioboo.fm/channel/bbcurdu.

 

BBC Urdu and BBC World Service West and Central Asia Hub Editor, Aamer Ahmed Khan, says: "We have been listening to our audiences – especially those connecting with us via social media – who said they wanted access to our radio programmes via mobile-phone apps. Now, thanks to our presence on AudioBoo, anyone with a smartphone can tune into Sairbeen every day, using this simple app. They can also use the app to connect with BBC Urdu, sharing their thoughts and experiences. It's an excellent development which will certainly boost our radio audience."

 

AudioBoo Content Editor, Susie Warhurst, says: "We are absolutely delighted that BBC Urdu is joining AudioBoo to share their world-class journalism with an even wider audience. News and Current Affairs audio from around the globe is at the heart of AudioBoo's heritage and its future growth. We're very proud this new partnership brings even more breaking news and in-depth analysis to our users."

 

The move is part of BBC Urdu's commitment to serve audiences on platforms of their choice and is in response to the ever-increasing popularity of news consumption via mobile phones. The launch of Sairbeen on AudioBoo - which has special apps for a range of smartphones and allows users to access it with average speed on mobile internet - has a strong potential to considerably expand the listenership base of the BBC Urdu radio programme which has long been a household name in Pakistan.

 

According to the BBC's newly released Global Audience Estimate, audiences of BBC World Service – of which BBC Urdu is part - are young and mobile. Mobile audiences deliver around a third of the traffic* to the BBC Urdu website which also has over 1.8 million fans on Facebook.

 

Audiences can go to the Audioboo website to download an app suitable for to their phone-operating system, and then search for the BBC Urdu channel. BBC Urdu plans to add more audio news content to its AudioBoo channel.

 

*Source: Omniture May 2014, BBC Urdu's monthly mobile unique views (UVs) = 697,000 and total traffic to BBC Urdu = 2.3m UVs.

 

(BBC Press Release)