News Broadcasting
BBC launches internet soap opera for English learners
MUMBAI: BBC World Service is launching its first online soap opera aimed at English language learners around the world.
From 1 August, The Flatmates features a multi-cultural cast of young people who not only share a flat but also their everyday adventures studying, working, living and loving in the UK. Every week, visitors to the bbclearningenglish.com/flatmates site can read the latest drama from the flat, as well as listen to the episode online as many times at they like.
The drama enables listeners to learn at their own pace. It is fun, informative and highly interactive, with learners voting to decide what happens next to the flatmates. A language point from the episode is highlighted, so visitors to the site can tell the BBC what aspects of grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation they’d like to learn, and a quiz tests their new knowledge. The writer and producer of the series, Nuala O’Sullivan, created the new interactive drama to appeal to active learners who want to be in charge of their own learning. She says, “Online is a fantastic way of learning English because people can go at their own pace and interact with the web in a way they want to, at a time that suits them.
“We also know from experience that participation in learning helps make it fun and the more people participate, the more effective the learning. The Flatmates appeals to people who also want to learn English as it is lived and spoken, rather than as it is sometimes taught in more traditional text-books. It engages learners, enabling them to interact directly with the characters and to help shape the everyday life storylines through an online vote.”
The Flatmates is the first weekly, online drama produced by BBC Learning English which is a division of BBC World Service. BBC Learning English publishes free internet and radio resources for English language learners and teachers.
BBC Learning English has teams providing dedicated resources to learners in China and the Middle East, and also collaborates with the British Council on a website aimed at teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
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.
