BBC News weekly audience in India rises to 74 million, its biggest global market

LONDON: The BBC is tuning into India like never before. BBC News has grown its weekly audience in the country to 74 million, reinforcing India’s position as the broadcaster’s largest international market as the BBC surpassed 500 million weekly users globally for the first time since contemporary audience records began.

According to figures shared by the BBC, its weekly reach in India increased from 64 million a year ago to 74 million, placing the country ahead of other major international markets, including the United States, Nigeria, Iran and Tanzania.

The broadcaster attributed the growth to continued expansion across its Indian language news services, with several language platforms recording notable gains in weekly audience reach. The performance further strengthens the BBC’s presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital news markets, where audiences increasingly consume news in regional languages.

The milestone was highlighted in a LinkedIn post by Collective Newsroom director of journalism and deputy CEO Mukesh Sharma, who said India continues to be the BBC’s largest international market. He noted that the broadcaster’s strong performance has been driven by sustained growth across its Indian language services, with several platforms recording significant increases in weekly audience reach.

Sharma also said the achievement reflects the creativity and hard work of teams across languages, whose audience-focused journalism continues to resonate with millions of people across India.

The latest audience figures underline the growing importance of multilingual journalism in India and reinforce the country’s strategic significance for global news organisations looking to expand their reach beyond English-language audiences.