News Broadcasting
Battle to be world’s #1 news site hots up as BBC numbers soar
MUMBAI: New research from ComScore* has revealed that the BBC’s global audience has grown by 30% since 2012 to 73.4m unique browsers – just 200,000 (0.27%) short of CNN’s 73.6m.
The competition to claim the top spot in online news intensified in July as the BBC outpaced the market to overtake all other international rivals.
The BBC puts its sustained growth down to a programme of product investment, enhanced feature content on bbc.com, the increasing popularity of the BBC’s suite of language sites and its continued commitment to first-hand reporting from an unmatched network of international correspondents.
In a period of unprecedented industry change the BBC has retained its position as the most trusted international news broadcaster and continues to take market share. Studies** have shown the BBC to be the leader in global breaking news with stories from a wider geographical spread of places and journalists in more countries than any other international news provider.
Separate research also showed that the BBC is by far the most shared news brand on Twitter, with the latest figures*** revealing that its stories were shared a record-breaking 3.5 million times in July – over a million more than its nearest competitor.
Peter Horrocks, Director of the World Service Group, said, “In a year that has seen wave after wave of fast-moving and constantly evolving breaking news stories from all corners of the world we are delighted that audiences are increasingly turning to the BBC for up-to-the-minute coverage from a trusted and impartial source.
“As the world gets smaller and big stories affect us all, our worldwide network of journalists and uniquely global perspective are increasingly valuable. Our aim is to become the leaders in global news online. It’s a bold ambition and we do not underestimate the competition, but the game is on.”
The BBC enjoyed particular success in North America – the home market of many of the BBC’s competitors and one of only a handful of regions in the world where it does not already take the top spot. July saw its unique desktop users grow 6% month on month and 16% year on year, bucking the trend and moving the BBC up to 4th place.
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News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
