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Tag: Richard Sambrook

  • BBC sees audience boost for its news

    BBC sees audience boost for its news

    MUMBAI: The British Broadcasting Corporation has announced that its Global News division attracts a record weekly global audience of 238 million people to its international news services including BBC World Service and the BBC World News television channel.

    Last year BBC’s audience totalled 233 million. BBC World Service attracted a record weekly audience of 188 million. This figure was boosted by its new BBC Arabic television channel but masked an overall decline in radio listening which was down five million to 177 million in 2008/9. However, despite this loss, BBC World Service remains the world’s most popular international radio broadcaster.

    The largest overseas audiences for BBC news across all platforms come from Nigeria (26 million), the USA (24.1 million) and India (22.2 million). The biggest increases in the BBC’s global audience estimate came from Arab-speaking countries like Saudi Arabia (+1.9 million), Egypt (+1.3 million), and Syria (+1 million), and newly-surveyed markets like Niger (+2.4 million), Liberia (+1.1 million) and Guinea (+1.4 million). However, radio audiences in Iran dropped by 1.6 million due to a decline in shortwave listening there and the cutting of medium wave transmissions.

    Major development and enhancement of the BBC’s international facing news sites and mobile phone offer was rewarded with a record 16 million unique online users, a 27 per cent increase on last year.

    BBC Global News director Richard Sambrook said, “In a year when international radio listening to the BBC actually went down marginally, record overall global audiences demonstrate the success of our multimedia strategy and investments.

    “People come to the BBC’s international news services for journalism and ask difficult questions, yet they respect different points of view and actively encourages debate. Increasingly, audiences want access at a time and place that suits them.”

  • BBC Global News to launch multi-media US08 Election bus tour

    BBC Global News to launch multi-media US08 Election bus tour

    MUMBAI: BBC Global News has announced its US08 Election bus tour across America to report the build-up to the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, with coverage commencing on Wednesday, 10 September.

    The initiative will carry a tri-media team of journalists from BBC World Service radio and online (English network and language services), BBC World News and BBC America television, including flagship news programme BBC World News America, and bbc.com/news.

    BBC reporters on the integrated, multi-media US08 Election bus will seek to discover what Americans are really talking about and what the world is saying about their nation.

    BBC Global News director Richard Sambrook says, “The BBC US08 Election bus tour is a fine example of multi-platform commissioning enabling us to harness the skills and expertise of our teams from across BBC World Service, BBC World News and bbc.com/news, as we report one of the biggest and significant international news stories of the year”.

    Travelling from West coast to East coast, the US08 Election bus will cross 15 U.S. states, clocking up some 4000 miles during its landmark journey, including stops at each of the critical presidential debates in Oxford, Mississippi, Nashville and Long Island.

    However, with an objective of finding out what everyday Americans want and need from their new President, the US08 Election bus will also visit smaller towns and outposts along the way. The BBC Global News teams will investigate the real issues at the heart of these communities, with likely topics including the economy, environment, poverty, health care, race and age.

    In addition, the US08 Election bus initiative will link Americans with the millions of people around the world watching the electoral race with interest and stimulate a global conversation by reporting international attitudes and perceptions towards America, through a series of overseas outside broadcasts across the BBC’s TV, online and radio services.

    BBC World Service senior commissioning editor Anne Koch says, “The BBC US08 Election bus tour is a unique initiative providing international audiences with a global perspective on the real issues within the U.S. election campaign. It offers an alternative insight into the many communities which make up America’s vibrant and diverse society, as well as giving Americans themselves the opportunity to see what the world is saying about them”.

  • BBC Global News maintains record 233 million audience

    BBC Global News maintains record 233 million audience

    MUMBAI: For the second year in succession, the BBC’s combined international news services attracted a global weekly audience of over 233 million during 2007/8, according to independent surveys.

    The global audience figure for the combined services of BBC World Service radio, BBC World News television and the BBC’s international online news service bbcnews.com is up 23 million from 211 million two years ago.

    BBC World Service’s weekly radio audience estimate is 182 million listeners a week across its 33 language services, down a million on last year’s record 183 million total. However its English language service attracted 40 million weekly listeners, up two million on last year.

    Many people used more than one service. BBC World News – the commercially funded international English language news and information television channel – now has estimated record audiences of 78 million viewers a week, up two million on 2006/7.

    The BBC’s international-facing online news sites – which include bbcnews.com and the Webby Award-winning bbcworldservice.co.uk – attracted 13 million weekly unique users.

    BBC Global News director Richard Sambrook said, “Maintaining the BBC’s impact in this fiercely competitive global media marketplace for news services is a huge achievement.

    “We are also pleased that the quality of our programmes and services have been recognised this year with four gold Sony Awards for BBC World Service radio programmes; a Webby for our online services and a prestigious Peabody Award for BBC World News.

    “This demonstrates that people around the world still turn to the BBC when they need quality news and information that is independent and trusted.”

  • BBC appoints Nazerali as controller of MC&A for global news

    MUMBAI: BBC has roped in Sanjay Nazerali as the controller of marketing, communications and audiences (MC&A) for its global news division.

    Nazerali who joins BBC in September will be leading the MC&A teams at BBC World Service, BBC World television, BBC Monitoring and the BBC’s international online news services.

    He will be responsible for building a single brand platform across the global news division. He will also be responsible for developing the marketing communications strategy to ensure that each part of the division has maximum impact in a converging media environment. He will directly report to BBC global news director Richard Sambrook.

    Sambrook said, “We created this pan-divisional post to enable us to communicate a unified and compelling global news message around the world. He has a wealth of international experience in developing brand strategies within the broadcast, entertainment and retail industries, and I believe that with Sanjay on board we are now ideally positioned to take our international news brands to the next level.”

    Nazerali said, “In an age where newspapers are becoming ‘viewspapers’ and the numbers of blogs are increasing exponentially, audiences around the world are crying out for credible news, but delivered in an engaging way. The time is absolutely right for the world’s best known news organisation to connect with these audiences as a compelling and dynamic brand in an increasingly competitive and complex news arena. I’m genuinely honoured to be part of this organisation, as I believe it can really make a difference to how the world receives and interacts with news in the future.”

    Earlier he was been working as the managing director of The Depot. The Depot is a marketing consultancy he co-founded in 1998. He has worked with media clients like Channel 4, ITV, Discovery, the Sci-fi Channel, FX Channel, BBC World Service and BBC World Television.

  • BBC programming to be off FM stations in Moscow

    MUMBAI: BBC World Service has been informed by the owners of the Moscow FM radio station Bolshoye Radio that BBC programming in Russian will no longer be broadcast on the station.

    This was BBC Russian Service’s last FM distribution partner station in Russia. It follows two
    other FM partner stations ceasing to take BBC programmes over the last nine months.

    The owners of Bolshoye Radio, financial group Finam, have told representatives of the BBC Russian Service that they are required to remove BBC programming at the request of Russian licensing authorities, or risk the station being taken off-air.

    The UK pubcaster says that it understands that this will take effect in advance of its scheduled block of programmes this afternoon at 17:00 Moscow time (MT).

    The BBC intends to appeal to Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and Protection of Cultural Heritage. It will ask for the decision to be reviewed and for the original concept of the station to be respected.

    According to official warnings received by Finam from the regulatory body, the licence requires that all programming must be produced by Bolshoye Radio itself.

    However the BBC said that the detailed concept documents – the basis on which the licence was awarded in February 2006 – clearly state that only “60 per cent of the station’s total output will be original material produced by Bolshoye Radio.”

    The BBC also stated that according to the same concept documents, the station would also have up to 18 per cent foreign produced content. This percentage of foreign content is reflected in the station’s licence.

    The concept documents of the station include the BBC and Voice of Russia as content providers and as integral parts of the output – specifically in order to enable the station “to reflect many and often
    contradictory views on current affairs”.

    BBC Global News director Richard Sambrook said, “We are extremely disappointed that listeners to Bolshoye Radio in Moscow will be unable to listen to our impartial and independent news and information programming in the high quality audibility of FM.

    “The BBC has invested a great deal of energy and resources into developing high quality programming for the station. The BBC has similar broadcasting arrangements with partner stations around the world. Our services are available on FM in over 150 capital cities – some 75 per cent of the global total.

    “The BBC entered into the relationship with Bolshoye Radio in good faith, and the licence was won in a competitive tender in February 2006. We cannot understand how the licence is now interpreted in a way that does not reflect the original and thorough concept documents.

    “We are appealing to Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and
    Protection of Cultural Heritage. We will ask for the decision to be reviewed and for the original concept of the station to be respected.”

    The BBC and Voice of Russia have been on Bolshoye Radio since May this year. The station, which was sold in July to financial investment company Finam, was currently at a test signal stage ahead of an official launch planned for the autumn.

    The BBC has had previous problems with FM broadcasting in Russia. At the end of 2006, Moscow station Radio Arsenal ceased taking BBC programming, and in early 2006 the St Petersburg station Radio Leningrad also stopped taking BBC programmes. Radio Leningrad informed the BBC that it had been required to stop broadcasting BBC programmes by local licensing authorities.

    BBC Russian programmes continue to be audio streamed online at bbcrussian.com.

  • 2007 version of BBC World Challenge announced

    2007 version of BBC World Challenge announced

    NEW DELHI: BBC World today announced the forthcoming opening of nominations for one of the world’s most exciting business and community project awards.

    World Challenge 2007 seeks to identify and reward people that bring economic, social and environmental benefits to their local communities, a release from the broadcaster says.

    The 24-hour international news and information television channel, BBC World, Newsweek and Shell have teamed up again for World Challenge 2007 and are searching for individuals or groups that have implemented grassroots solutions to the toughest problems of our age, from poverty to pollution.

    Nominations for the competition open on February 5 and companies, communities and enterprising individuals around the globe with projects are encouraged to enter by registering on the World Challenge 2007 website at www.theworldchallenge.co.uk.

    Once nominations close at the end of April, a panel of expert judges will shortlist the 12 entries that they consider are the best in terms of showing innovation and bringing economic, social and environmental benefits to their local community.

    After voting has closed, the winner of World Challenge 2007 will be announced at an awards ceremony in The Hague in December 2007.

    The winner will again receive a US$20,000 grant from Shell to invest in their project, plus the two runners-up will each receive US$10,000. The Awards Ceremony will be shown on BBC World in December.

    BBC World will produce six 30-minute programmes profiling the 12 finalists showing how their projects and businesses are changing lives. These programmes will be broadcast to BBC World’s global audience in October and November 2007, and the channel’s viewers will be invited to vote online for their favourite project or business.

    World Challenge, which began in 2005, has already inspired passion and commitment throughout the world and propelled enterprising projects and businesses into the spotlight. Since its inception, financial grants have been given to six projects from across the world and the competition has experienced phenomenal growth.

    In 2006, the World Challenge received 816 nominations compared with 500 nominations the year before.

    Maximus, a firm in Sri Lanka which supports a local elephant orphanage and provides sustainable employment by making paper out of elephant dung, won World Challenge 2006.

    Coconets from the Philippines, had won the 2005 competition for its landslide prevention system using waste coconut husks.

    Richard Sambrook, CEO BBC World, says: “The enthusiastic response to the World Challenge and the increase in the number of nominations each year is testament to this successful and inspirational project. We are delighted to again be working with Shell and Newsweek on World Challenge 2007.”

    Roxanne Decyk, Director, Corporate Affairs, Shell says: “Shell is proud to continue its association with this exciting and inspirational event. It is rewarding to witness the benefits that the World Challenge has brought to previous finalists, whether through profile-raising or through our financial assistance.”

    Newsweek will mirror the programmes’ content in a six-part series of advertorials on the 12 nominees, aimed at driving its readers to the online voting site. The campaign will reach 1.5 million weekly readers across Europe, Asia and Latin America.

    Gregory J. Osberg, Executive Vice President and Worldwide Publisher of Newsweek, adds: “Now in its third successful year, World Challenge rewards innovators who are implementing community-based solutions to some of the toughest problems of our age, from poverty to pollution. Along with partners Shell and BBC World, we are honoured to use Newsweek’s global reach to seek out inspiring projects that are helping people and the planet.”

  • Sri Lankan firm triumphs in BCC World’s competition

    Sri Lankan firm triumphs in BCC World’s competition

    MUMBAI: A Sri Lankan firm which transforms elephant dung into eco-friendly paper, has won BBC World challenge 2006. This rewards businesses and projects that put something back into their communities.

    ‘Maximus’, based in Kegalle at the foothills of Sri Lanka’s central mountainous region, beat more than 800 other projects from 120 countries to win World Challenge 2006 and a US$20,000 grant from Shell. The company uses a range of unusual products, including elephant dung and bark from banana trees, to create a line of papyrus-like paper.

    The notion’s far from quixotic. Sri Lanka is home to some 3,000 elephants, whose numbers are dwindling – due to poaching and conflict with farmers, who view them as very hungry pests.

    To change that view, ‘Maximus’ created its “Peace Paper” scheme, which hires rural people to collect elephant dung, providing a financial incentive that helps reduce poverty and build tolerance. When cleaned, pulped and pressed, cellulose-rich elephant dung creates a beautifully textured, papyrus-like paper.

    Part of the company’s profits goes back to the local elephant orphanage. More than 33,000 people around the world voted online in the World Challenge 2006 competition – run by BBC World and Newsweek, the weekly global current affairs magazine, in association with Shell. The competition searches for, highlights and rewards individuals or groups that have used enterprise and innovation to the benefit of local communities.

    ‘Maximus’ was voted as the winner while the two runners-up, which each received US$10,000, were ‘Cards from Africa’ in Rwanda and ‘NGO Dalit’ from Bangladesh.

    The three companies were presented with their prizes at a special awards ceremony, filmed by BBC World, in The Hague. The World Challenge 2006 Awards ceremony will be shown on BBC World on 16 and 17 December.

    BBC World Challenge began in 2005. BBC World, Newsweek and Shell have continued and expanded the competition into 2006. Nominations for the 2006 competition closed on 7 June. 816 nominations were received – a 79 per cent increase on last year’s nominations of 457.

    This year’s competition attracted the greatest numbers of nominees from India (159), Philippines (56), Nigeria (47), USA (34), Kenya (32), South Africa (32), England (20) and Uganda (20).

    12 finalists were chosen by a panel of expert judges as the best examples of community-based business, development or environmental projects. Their stories featured on BBC World globally in October and November 2006 and the channel’s 65 million weekly viewers were then invited to vote online for the most commendable and inspirational project.

    Newsweek also mirrored the programmes’ content in a six-part series of advertorials about the 12 nominees, aimed at driving its readers to the online voting site. The campaign reached 1.5 million weekly readers across Europe, Asia and Latin America.

    BBC World CEO Richard Sambrook says, “I have been amazed by the huge number of entries we’ve received for the World Challenge 2006, and equally inspired at the quality and diversity of the projects. This competition has again been extraordinarily successful, capturing the imagination – and the votes – of many thousands of BBC World viewers around the globe. We are delighted to be involved with such an inspiring project for the second year running and extend our congratulations to Maximus.”

    Newsweek executive VP and worldwide publisher Gregory J. Osberg says, “World Challenge 2006 is about getting involved and making a difference at a grass roots level. Now in its second successful year, this global competition provides a forum for rewarding innovators who are actively seeking solutions to problems like poverty, hunger and pollution in the communities in which they live. Newsweek congratulates this year’s winner, Maxim

  • Yahoo! inks deal with ABC to offer BBC News videos

    Yahoo! inks deal with ABC to offer BBC News videos

    MUMBAI: Yahoo! News has entered into an agreement with ABC News to offer the BBC News video on its site, whereby users will have access to approximately 30 video clips of BBC News video each day, including videos in the categories of top stories, breaking news, U.S. and world news, sports, business, politics, technology, health and entertainment.

    The distribution agreement was made with ABC News, which maintains exclusive representation for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for distribution of BBC News on demand broadband and wireless content in North America, informs an official release.

    “We are pleased to bring the renowned journalism of the BBC to Yahoo! News, a leading online news service that reaches millions across the world,” said BBC’s Global News division director Richard Sambrook. “The demand for BBC content in the United States is growing all the time and we believe our expansion on new digital platforms is critically important to helping us meet that demand.”

    “ABC News is committed to expanding the BBC’s presence in broadband in the North American market,” said ABC News Digital Media Group senior vice president and general manager Bernard Gershon. “This is a strong first step that joins the esteemed journalism of the BBC with the innovation of Yahoo News in effort to reach consumers anytime and anywhere.”

    BBC joins dozens of other news broadcasters and publishers on Yahoo! News, including ABC News. All of the video will be available for free to Yahoo! users, and will be advertising-supported, adds the release.

    Yahoo! Media Group head of news and information Scott Moore said, “The BBC has established itself as an unparalleled global news-gathering organization, and its content will be a tremendous complement to the world class news already available on our site. The BBC has a cool factor with younger audiences, a natural fit for Yahoo! News users who are generally younger than audiences at other news organizations.”

    In January 2006, ABC News announced an agreement to become the exclusive representative for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for distribution of BBC News on demand broadband and wireless content in North America. This marks the first time a U.S. news network has joined an international news organization to leverage content offerings, and expands an established relationship between ABC News and the BBC that began in 1994.

  • BBC triumphs at AIB Intl Broadcasting Awards

    BBC triumphs at AIB Intl Broadcasting Awards

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that it has won three awards at the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) Awards in London. BBC World was named the International Television Channel Of The Year, while BBC World Service won two awards for the Best Coverage Of A News Event and Best Radio Documentary.

    The jury, which comprised senior executives from the broadcasting organisations plus television and radio critics in the UK and around the world, cited BBC World Service’s coverage of the South Asian Earthquake, which won Best Coverage Of A News Event award, as “most impressive in every respect.”

    Return To Sarajevo won Best Radio Documentary Programme for what the jury described as “a stunningly vivid documentary, extraordinarily powerful and impeccably produced.”

    BBC World was named International Television Channel of the Year for its “excellent coverage of stories and high presentation values.”

    BBC’s Global News Division director Richard Sambrook says, “The BBC’s international services are honoured to have been selected by the industry against some stiff competition. We consider this a great endorsement for the exceptionally hard work of our teams of journalists around the globe both on radio and television. It is their coverage and analysis of complex events which has been responsible for attracting more viewers to BBC World and more listeners to BBC World Service than ever before, particularly at a time when people are trying to make sense of our rapidly changing world.”

    The Association for International Broadcasting Awards are a non-commercial celebration of success that focusses on international, cross-border broadcasting.

  • George Alagiah joins BBC World to present ‘NewsHour’

    George Alagiah joins BBC World to present ‘NewsHour’

    MUMBAI: George Alagiah, one of the BBC’s well-known news presenters, will join BBC World to present a brand-new programme NewsHour. Beginning in June, the programme will broadcast each weekday during peak times in the key markets around the world, including the US breakfast peak and Asia evening peak.

    Alagiah will present NewsHour at 12 PM (GMT) from Monday to Thursday. He currently co-presents the BBC’s Six O’Clock News in the UK, and will continue in that role in addition to presenting NewsHour, informs an official release.

    BBC Global News Division director Richard Sambrook says, “We are extremely pleased to have a journalist of George’s calibre on board to present our new programme. George has achieved tremendous success in the UK for his objective coverage, in-depth international knowledge, and his sharp interviewing skills. His experience and his ability to uncover the news behind each story will be crucial for the success of NewsHour, which was created to ensure that BBC World delivers continuous and authoritative news programming to its audiences in the US during peak morning hours, and in East Asia in the evening.”

    “As a foreign correspondent for a decade, I saw first-hand how people around the world turned to the BBC for its sheer breadth of coverage and the authority with which it came. Now, more than ever, American audiences are interested how global events can have an impact on their lives and Newshour will bring them the day’s international news stories from an impartial and global perspective.”

    Alagiah joined the BBC in 1989 and worked as a foreign correspondent specialising in Africa and the developing world. In March 2002, he launched BBC Four’s international news programme and began presenting BBC’s Six O’clock News in January 2003.

    He has reported on many issues and events including the famine in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Liberia, Saddam Hussein’s campaign against the Iraqi Kurds and the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York.

    Alagiah has won several awards for his reporting and has interviewed many prominent international figures including Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat and Tariq Aziz of Iraq.

    The introduction of NewsHour is part of the channel’s plan to establish regular NewsHour programmes throughout the day, to ensure BBC World delivers tailored news programming at the breakfast and evening peak-times across key time zones.