BBC World Service
The BBC World Service, an international multimedia broadcaster, is known for its wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV, and digital platforms.
With a weekly audience of approximately 364 million people worldwide, the BBC World Service has become one of the UK’s most significant cultural exports. It continues to inspire and enlighten individuals across the globe, helping them navigate and comprehend the complexities of our world. Notably, a third of its global audience falls within the 15 to 24 age group. BBC Learning English, a part of the BBC World Service, plays a vital role in teaching English to audiences worldwide by providing free audio, video, and text materials.
In recent years, the BBC World Service has experienced its most substantial expansion since the 1940s. It now operates in over 40 languages, ranging from Pidgin to Korean, with new and expanded bureaux in various locations such as Cairo, Seoul, Belgrade, and Bangkok. Delhi and Nairobi host its largest news operations outside the UK.
Funded by the licence fee, the BBC World Service received a £291 million grant in 2016 from the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for a four-year modernization program and the establishment of new language services. In 2021, the FCDO provided £94.4 million to support the BBC World Service’s efforts in upholding global democracy through accurate, impartial, and independent news reporting. This includes an additional £8 million investment to combat disinformation and enhance the BBC’s digital offerings to audiences worldwide.
BBC World News and BBC.com
BBC World News, our internationally broadcasted news and information television channel, operates 24/7 in English and is financially supported by commercial sources. It reaches numerous countries around the world, with availability in over 200 countries and territories, reaching approximately 300 million households and 1.8 million hotel rooms. The channel provides regular hourly bulletins covering news, business, sports, and weather updates, along with a diverse range of current affairs, documentary, and lifestyle programming from the BBC.
BBC.com, our global commercial news website, caters to a vast international audience, including the United States, the world’s largest media market.