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BBC’s comedy site offers a new look
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has unveilled the full launch of its comedy website bbc.co.uk/comedy, featuring new elements, offering users a more immersive experience.
Comedy fans can now navigate BBC comedy past, present and future. There are classic archive moments aggregated into collections, exclusive material from the likes of The Thick Of It and Outnumbered and bespoke web-only comedies from some of the hottest new talent online.
Following its beta launch in May 2009, the site has become a playground for the next generation of comedy stars as well as enabling well-known comedy greats to experiment with new ideas.
The library now features over 600 clips that have amassed 2.5 million views on bbc.co.uk, with as many again being watched on YouTube.
The broadcaster adds that bbc.co.uk/comedy is the place to discover rising stars such as Jason Lewis, Idiot Of Ants, Harry Partridge and Mr Khan, played by Adil Ray – one of the stars of Bellamy‘s People.
To mark the full rollout of the site, comedy fans will also be treated to sketches from comedy talent including Those Mitchell And Webb Animations, a collaboration between the team behind the sketch show and some new online animators.
James Corden, Jaime Winstone, Robert Llewellyn and Ewen Macintosh star in BeastHunters – a fantasy horror series that follows a team of amateur de-beasters on their hunt to find creatures released from a mysterious medieval bestiary – The Whisperine, created by newcomers Jamie Lennox and Louis Waymouth.
There will be a series of short films by Lenny Henry, titled Conversations With My Wife. Lenny plays a stay-at-home dad Skyping with his executive wife who is jetting off around the world.
In a bid to further utilise the online trend of sharing content, bbc.co.uk/comedy will be introducing Playlists, which will allow established comedy talent to recommend their favourite BBC comedy moments of all time as well as discover up-and-coming comedy. Kick-starting this will be Stephen Merchant and Johnny Vegas.
BBC Comedy Commissioning controller Cheryl Taylor says, “The BBC Comedy website represents an extraordinarily diverse array of classic and cutting-edge humour and I would urge all comedy fans to check it out.
“Any platform which showcases both established and up-and-coming comedians in such innovative and accessible ways is hugely valuable to the genre and offers up brilliant development opportunities to both on and off screen talent.”
BBC Multiplatform commissioning executive Martin Trickey says, “The site brings together the best of the BBC from past, present and future. People will be able to find classic moments from comedy greats alongside the freshest new talent from around the UK.”
bbc.co.uk/comedy, aims to be the first port of call for comedy lovers, enabling them to catch up on the latest comedies from across the BBC via BBC iPlayer, discover spin-off content via the Red Button and YouTube, join in discussions and keep up to date with the latest news via the blog and Twitter.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
