BBC World Service extends shortwave broadcasts in Hindi, English & Urdu

The Director of the BBC World Service, Jamie Angus, says: "The provision of independent and trusted news in places of conflict and tension is one of the core purposes of the World Service.

"Given the shutdown of digital services and phone lines in the Kashmir region, it's right for us to try and increase the provision of news on our short wave radio services. Audiences in both India and Pakistan trust the BBC to speak with an independent voice, and we know that our reporting through several moments of crisis this year has been popular and valued by audiences who turn to us when tensions are highest."

BBC News Hindi radio output (9515 and 11995 kHz) will be extended by 30 minutes from Friday 16 August. The full one-hour news programme will be on air from 7.30pm to 8.30pm local time.

On Monday 19 August, BBC News Urdu will launch a 15-minute daily programme, Neemroz. Broadcast at 12.30pm local time on 15310kHz and 13650kHz, the programme will focus on news coming from Kashmir and the developments around the issue, and include global news roundup tailored for audiences in Kashmir.

BBC World Service English broadcasts (11795kHz, 9670kHz, 9580kHz, 7345kHz, 6040kHz) will be expanded, with the morning programming extended by an hour, ending at 8.30am local time; and the afternoon and evening programming starting an hour earlier, at 4.30pm local time.

The shutdown has left people with very few options for accessing news at this time. However, news services from the BBC continue to be available in the region - through shortwave radio transmissions in English, Urdu, Hindi, Dari and Pashto. As well as providing an important source of news to the region, the South Asian language services have brought added depth to the BBC's coverage of the Kashmir story.

The recent introduction of four new languages services for India - Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi and Telugu, following additional investment from the UK Government - has enabled the BBC to offer a wider portfolio of languages and distribution methods to a region that is geographically diverse as well as politically tense. This year's Global Audience Measure for the BBC showed that India is now the World Service's largest market, with a weekly audience of 50m.

(BBC Press Release)

BBC URDU B17

BBC URDU B17
(Effective 29th October 2017 to 24th March 2018)


UTC   UTC FREQ DAYS     SITE    PWR AZI
START END
----------------------------------------

1500 1600 1413 smtwtfs A SEELA  800 80
1500 1600 5845 smtwtfs EREVAN   300 100
1500 1600 7485 smtwtfs KRANJI   250 340
1500 1600 9410 smtwtfs KRANJI   250 315
1500 1600 9445 smtwtfs DHABAYYA 250 60

(Alokesh Gupta)

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)

BBC Urdu launches single number for news on all Pakistan mobile phone networks

Mobile phone users across Pakistan can now listen to news and sports bulletins from BBC Urdu on their phones via the dedicated short code 447474. By calling the number, subscribers to any mobile phone network in Pakistan can now choose between the BBC's one-minute news or sports bulletins on demand.

The BBC bulletins are updated throughout the day and the number of updates will increase if there is a breaking news story. Calls cost 3 Rupees per minute.

Head of BBC Urdu, Aamer Ahmed Khan, says: "Pakistan is among the world's most dynamic news markets, evidenced by the success of our news bulletins through our partner FM stations.

"We are confident that our mobile news offer will be similarly welcomed in the country's highly competitive market because of the credibility and quality associated with the BBC Urdu brand."

BBC World Service Business Development Manager for South Asia, Helen Kathuria, adds: "The BBC is always looking for ways to reach our audiences – with people's changing lifestyles it's especially important for us to reach people in ways that suit them.

"For the first time, we are able to offer on-demand news to everyone in Pakistan with a mobile phone, regardless of the network they are using."

There are about 100 million mobile phone subscribers in Pakistan.

BBC Urdu broadcasts two times a day for an hour and a half. Its flagship programme Sairbeen (20.00 Pakistan time) provides 60 minutes of news and current affairs.The largest Urdu-language news website in the world bbcurdu.com and its mobile version bbcurdu.com/mobile offers up-to-the minute news, features and analysis on South Asia and the rest of the world, in text, audio and video.

Its thriving interactive offer includes major debates, forums, blogs, votes etc. BBC Urdu's official channel on YouTube youtube.com/bbcurdu offers video news and features from the BBC's unparalleled global network of correspondents, including BBC Urdu reports covering events and issues of special interest to regional and diaspora audiences.

BBC Urdu is part of BBC World Service, an international multimedia broadcaster delivering 32 language and regional services. It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 180 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites, which received 7.1 million weekly visitors in September 2010, include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate.

It has around 2,000 partner radio stations which take BBC content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices. For more information, visit the BBC World Service website. For a weekly alert about BBC World Service programmes, sign up for the BBC World Agenda e-guide via the BBC World Service website.

The BBC attracts a global audience of 241 million people to its international news services including BBC World Service and the BBC World News television channel.

(BBC World Service International Publicity)