News Broadcasting
10,000 Pakistanis take part in BBC audience campaign
MUMBAI: The BBC’s attempt to create further awareness about its radio service in Pakistan has paid off. Around 10,000 people took part in the BBC Urdu service’s month-long audience campaign across Pakistan.
Its campaign BBC Sangat… Kahain Aap Sunain Hum (You Say, We Listen) covered thousands of kilometres to meet the Pakistani audiences face-to-face, engaging people from local communities in discussions on the issues affecting their lives.
The events held in Baluchistan, Sindh, Punjab, Kashmir, North-West Frontier Province and Northern Areas were broadcast daily on the BBC Urdu service’s popular programme, Sairbeen, and featured online on the world’s leading Urdu-language site, bbcurdu.com.
BBC Urdu acting head Waheed Mirza said, “It was a great learning opportunity for our programme-makers, as they came face to face with people who listen to our output. It was also heartening to learn about the many ways the BBC touches upon its audiences – and the importance they attach to how we report news.”
People travelled hundreds of miles to meet their favourite presenters and share their views. BBC Urdu Radio editor Shahzeb Jillani says that meeting them was exhilarating. “These people humbled us with their enthusiasm, their respect for the BBC brand and their appreciation of the quality of broadcasting we provide.
“The campaign also enabled us for the first time to meet our new listeners: people in their early-to-mid twenties. Many of them are university students: serious, well-informed, curious about the world, and looking to us to widen their knowledge and enhance their aspirations.”
BBC Urdu broadcasts three times a day. Its flagship programme Sairbeen which airs everyday provides news and current affairs. Jahanuma, which starts at 6.30 am, is a 30-minute daily breakfast programme which sets the day’s news agenda. At the end of the day there is Shabnama. This half an hour show provides a round-up of the main events starting at 10.30 PM In addition, BBC Urdu brings listeners weekly magazine features on sports, science and economy that can also be accessed through www.bbcurdu.com.
News Broadcasting
News18 India to air Sabse Bada Dangal on 4 May counting day
Channel promises fastest results, live trends and analysis across five states.
MUMBAI: Ballots will do the talking and screens will do the shouting. As counting day approaches for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, News18 India is gearing up for an all-day broadcast of its flagship election show, Sabse Bada Dangal, on 4 May from 6 am onwards. The Hindi news channel plans to deliver continuous, real-time updates as votes are tallied, combining live counting data with on-ground reporting and studio analysis. With political fortunes set to shift through the day, the coverage will track every swing, surge and surprise as trends turn into results.
The broadcast will feature a mix of senior political leaders, analysts and experts, offering instant reactions and decoding the evolving electoral picture. Expect heated debates, quick takes and detailed breakdowns as the numbers settle across all five states.
For News18 India, counting day has long been a high-visibility moment. The network is banking on its reporting reach, editorial bandwidth and technology-driven coverage to stay ahead in what is often a fiercely competitive news cycle.
With multiple battlegrounds and shifting narratives, the day promises both drama and data in equal measure. And if all goes to plan, Sabse Bada Dangal will once again turn the counting of votes into prime-time spectacle.
