News Broadcasting
BBC using WhatsApp and WeChat at Indian elections
MUMBAI: The BBC is taking to instant messaging to hear what voters across India think as they go to the polls. ‘BBC News India’ accounts are being launched today, on instant messaging platforms WhatsApp and WeChat giving Indian audiences of BBC World News, bbc.com and BBC World Service unprecedented coverage of the Indian election campaign.
‘BBC News India’ will receive user generated content directly from Indian voters whilst also distributing the best of BBC coverage of the election including videos, special graphics and interview clips. This will provide people with top analysis of the election and also go behind the headlines to tell the personal stories that reveal what’s really at stake.
On the launch of ‘BBC News India’ Trushar Barot, Assistant Editor for the Social Media Hub at BBC News, said: “Instant messaging apps have had phenomenal user growth in the past year. We know that hundreds of millions of people are using these platforms to stay connected, but increasingly also to share news stories, pictures and videos. This has been particularly evident with the Indian election campaign, so it’s the perfect news event to pilot our use of these apps. We’ll be using these accounts to encourage Indian voters – and those from around the world with an interest in Indian politics – to share their key issues, questions and experiences of the election campaign. We’ll also be sharing with them the best of our content from inside these platforms”.
The launch of ‘BBC News India’ will complement a host of election dedicated content going out throughout April and May across BBC World News and BBC.com with the focus on providing audiences in India and around the world with top analysis and the latest developments as the campaign progresses. Access to news stories will now be made even easier for Indian audiences with the launch of the India edition of BBC.com on mobile. The edition will also give people access to news headlines from the BBC World Service’s Hindi and Tamil websites, bbchindi.com and bbctamil.com.
And with social media increasing in popularity the BBC Trending team will also be reporting from India on what’s popular and why (@BBCtrending).
Users can connect to the BBC News India WhatsApp account by sending a message to it after adding this number on their phone’s contacts: +919650801273
Users can connect to BBC News India on WeChat by searching for the ID ‘BBCNewsIndia’ inside the app and clicking ‘Follow’.
News Broadcasting
Book Cricket gets a digital century on News18 amid T20 fever
Nostalgic classroom game revamped in English, Hindi plus Telugu on web and app.
MUMBAI: When the T20 World Cup fever hits fever pitch, News18 decides to flip the script straight back to the classroom. The digital news platform has revived the timeless schoolyard favourite Book Cricket as an interactive online game, perfectly timed to ride the cricket wave gripping fans across the globe. The reimagined Book Cricket ditches textbooks for smartphones, blending old-school nostalgia with modern gameplay. Once a sneaky recess pastime played by flicking book pages to score runs, the digital version now offers seamless fun for anyone craving a quick cricket fix between overs.
Available in English, Hindi and Telugu (with more languages planned across News18’s network), the game sits within the platform’s fast-growing gaming portfolio of over 20 titles, all built in-house. It joins event-driven hits like ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’ during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, plus festive specials such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi.
News18 Digital CEO Mitul Sangani said, “Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy. At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits.”
Select titles have expanded beyond News18.com to CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com, reflecting the network’s push to deepen user interaction across platforms. The Book Cricket game is live now at https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/.
In a tournament where every boundary counts, News18’s digital Book Cricket proves the simplest games can still deliver the biggest smiles no syllabus required, just pure cricket joy one page-flip at a time.
