BBC World News eyes 20 per cent ad revenue growth in India in new fiscal

BBC World News, which claims to have witnessed 20 per cent ad revenue growth this year in India, aims to maintain the same impetus for the next fiscal, too. The channel also plans to capitalise on its bbc.com platform in India.

According to Seema Mohapatra, director, advertising sales, South Asia, BBC Worldwide, 2011 is expected to witness a lot of new premium product launches and public offerings, along with banks and corporate houses indulging in exercises to rebuild consumer confidence.

Mohapatra adds that the business opportunity in terms of revenue generation is looking big in this country as Indian conglomerates are going global and are looking at reaching out to influential viewers across the world.

Meanwhile, as far as bbc.com is concerned, the aim is to build further on the 1.7 million unique users in India today, and monetising the platform by targeting other key markets for Indian advertisers.

"Categories such as travel and tourism, banking, manufacturing, IT, telecom, corporate, autos and energy companies will be critical," Mohapatra opines.

So, does the existence of so many domestic news channels pose a threat to BBC World News in India?

Vaishali Sharma, head, marcomm, South Asia, BBC Global News Division, says, "We have always believed that we are complementary to and not competitive with any domestic news channel. BBC World News explains not only what is happening - but why. We bring real global news as it happens. We also believe that all global stories have a local connect, which was what led to our first ever India brand campaign, 'What affects the world, affects You', three years ago."

BBC World News is a 24 hour international news and information channel that is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide and reaches 303 million households. The channel's content is also available in approximately 1.8 million hotels, on 81 cruise ships, 46 airlines, 36 mobile phone networks and various online platforms including bbc.com/news, claims the channel.

For the record, in February 2010, BBC World News donned a new look, introduced a new schedule and a new weekend line up to cater to regional audiences and sharpen the focus of the channel in the regional markets. The reviewed output was based on the audience expectations and desires, wherein the channel wanted to strengthen the link between the viewers and world news, bringing relevant news to key regional markets with a local connect.