News Broadcasting
BBC Worldwide plans to launch bbc.com for users outside UK
MUMBAI: Online medium is growing to be a powerful mode of communication, providing unlimited opportunities to extend interactions. BBC Worldwide is proposing to launch bbc.com to capitalise on the popularity of BBC content abroad.
The BBC website for users outside the UK is likely to have advertisements, according to the corporation’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide. The corporation is looking at launching bbc.com in spring 2007.
According to information posted on the bbc.co.uk, a spokesperson said a ‘limited level’ of ads would be ‘a very viable option’. TV shows could be sold to international users on the new site.
It must first be approved by the BBC Trust, which will replace the corporation’s governors. Before that, proposals will go through the BBC’s internal journalism board and executive direction group. But it will not be subject to the public value test, which will ensure the BBC’s non-commercial ventures do not adversely affect commercial markets in the UK.
“Our hope would be to have the site fully up and running in a year’s time,” the spokesperson continued. The site is also proposing to offer ‘video on demand’. According to BBC Worldwide, the bbc.com site will not feature pop-up promos, animated commercials or the sort of ads that “give the web a bad name”.
The television news channel BBC World, which is broadcast outside the UK, carries advertisement and could be used as a model.
The corportion is also hoping that in due course, the site will offer direct consumer downloads via the proposed Integrated Media Player, or iMP. “At a later date it might become a portal for video on demand for international users,” the BBC Worldwide spokesperson said.
iMP is an application in development offering UK viewers the chance to download TV and radio programmes they may have missed for up to seven days after they have been broadcast.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
