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The BBC World Service is set to launch in 11 new languages, in what’s described as the broadcaster’s biggest expansion since the 1940s.
The BBC World Service currently broadcasts in 29 languages across the world, reaching 246 million people weekly.
Overall, the BBC reaches a weekly global audience of 348 million people. This latest expansion is part of the BBC’s plan to reach 500 million people by 2022, with a focus on young people and women.
The new language services will expand the BBC's presence in:
- Eastern Africa. The World Service is launching localized versions in Afaan Oromo and Amharic. The former is the first language of more than 45 million Oromo people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and territories with large emigrant populations. Amharic is the official working language of Ethiopia, spoken by around 22 million native and 15 million secondary speakers in the country. The World Service will also launch in Tigrinya, another language spoken in the Horn of Africa, primarily in Eritrea and Ethiopia, with around 7 million native speakers.
- Western Africa. The World Service will debut in English-based Pidgin, which the BBC describes as West Africa's lingua franca, used by three to five million people in Nigeria as a primary language, and by 75 million in the country as a secondary language. Additionally, the World Service will also be available in Igbo, which is spoken by about 18 million people in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, and in Yoruba, which has about 30 million speakers across Nigeria, Benin, Togo and in communities in the UK, Brazil, and North America. These language services will complement the BBC's existing service in Hausa, and help the broadcaster tap into large and growing audiences in Western Africa — Nigeria alone has a population of over 173 million.
- India. The World Service will launch a version in Punjabi, the world's 10th most widely spoken language as of 2015, with 100 million native speakers worldwide. It's also launching in Gujarati and Marathi, which are each spoken by upwards of 60 million people in western regions of India. Finally, the World Service will debut in Telegu, one of the most widely spoken languages in India with an estimated 70 million native speakers. These four new languages will supplement the World Service's existing coverage in Hindi, which is considered India's national language with around 180 million native speakers, and Tamil.
- Asia. Finally, the World Service will also debut in Korean, and premiere radio programs aimed at the Korean Peninsula, for both South and North Korea. In total, there are around 75 million native Korean speakers worldwide. At the same time, the BBC's full digital service in Thai also went live yesterday, which will target some 20 million native Thai speakers. These initiatives will build on the BBC's push to create a localized Japanese news site last year.
And the BBC has more regionalized offerings in the works. On top of the new African language services mentioned above, it will expand its TV services for the African continent, and plans to launch 30 new programs across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2022. In the Arab world, the World Service will also debut new regional programming on BBC Arabic. Meanwhile, in Russian-speaking countries, the BBC will produce bulletins in Russians including regionalized versions for surrounding Russian-speaking countries.
The broadcaster is also doubling down on digital media. Alongside new TV and radio programs, the BBC will target digital audiences with more mobile and video content, more activity on social media, and other new digital channels. All of the endeavors mentioned above will require adding more journalists around the world.
Their efforts will result in more content being published on different media. Ultimately, establishing more localized services across both legacy and digital media will help the BBC attract ad spend from marketers worldwide.
If 2015 was the year that brands and advertisers embraced online video, then 2016 will see the medium take the next step as live streaming takes off.
Live streaming video refers to broadcasts in real time to an audience over the internet. While the concept of live streaming has been around for years, mobile-first video platforms with user-generated content have just recently begun to make serious waves thanks to improved video quality, faster broadband speeds, and enhanced mobile technology.
Online video has become a key part of the strategic business model for both brands and marketers as they seek more innovative ways to capture consumer attention. Creative live streaming video initiatives and campaigns are a way for companies to cut through the digital clutter and have emerged as the medium of choice not only for person-to-person sharing, but also for business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) communication.
Brands are increasingly using live streaming to reach audiences. Its importance has grown significantly thanks to substantial investments by social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter to build and enhance their live-streaming platforms.
And advertising dollars are likely to follow. 88% of agency respondents stated that they “might” or “definitely will” invest in live stream video advertising over the next six months, according to a recent Trusted Media Brands survey.
BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on live streaming video that examines the eruption of online video from the perspective of both consumers and advertisers and assesses how live streaming is emerging as the medium's next catalyst for growth.
Here are some key points from the report:
- Live streaming video will further accelerate streaming videos overall share of internet traffic. Streaming video accounts for over two-thirds of all internet traffic, and this share is expected to jump to 82% by 2020, according to Cisco’s June 2016 Visual Networking Index report.
- Live video’s value comes from its unique ability to add an authentic human element to digital communications. As a result, brands are leveraging three main streaming methods to connect with their viewers: tutorials, product launches, and exclusive and behind-the-scene footage.
- Advertisers will continue to invest heavily in online video, especially as live streaming video gains traction. Already in the US, digital video ad revenue reached $7.8 billion in 2015, up 55% from 2014, according to figures from the Internet Advertising Bureau.
- While live streaming is still in its early stages, brands are leveraging micropayments, mid-roll video ads and direct payments from social platforms, to monetize their live streaming videos.
- The success of live streaming video hinges on brands overcoming a lack of measurement standards in the space, as well as changes in social media sites' algorithms that affect what content users see.
In full, the report:
- Examines the eruption of live streaming video.
- Explores the differences between platforms that host live streaming video.
- Breaks down successful approaches from both brands and publishers.
- Discusses unique monetization opportunities live streaming presents.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of live streaming video.