BBC Entertainment and CBeebies to be withdrawn in India

The two channels will be withdrawn by end-November. The decision is attributed to delays in digitisation and high carriage fees 

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | November 1, 2012

BBC Worldwide today confirmed the closure of two of its branded channels in India through an announcement on its Facebook page. BBC Entertainment and CBeebies are to be withdrawn and will no longer be available beyond the end of November 2012. BBC World News, the BBC's international news and current affairs channel, will remain available to Indian viewers.

The decision to withdraw these BBC channels has not been an easy one to take. India is a dynamic and fast growing media market but remains uniquely challenging for pay-TV channels. Specifically, delays in digitisation and the need for channel operators to pay cable platforms for carriage makes the economics of running channels very challenging at this time.

Quality BBC content will continue to be seen in India – many of our programmes are available on other channels, both terrestrial and cable, as well as digitally and on our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/BBCWorldwide).

Mark Whitehead, Senior Vice-President and General Manager, BBC Worldwide Channels Asia, said, “We would like to thank our dedicated and loyal staff in India, Singapore and the UK who have worked on BBC Entertainment and CBeebies, and our many viewers for their support and loyalty. We believe India is an exciting market and in the event of changes in the options available to us, we would certainly consider relaunching our non-News channels in the market.”

Whitehead added, “BBC Worldwide remains committed to India, where BBC World News – the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel – continues to be available across the market, along with the bbc.com and bbchindi.com websites, BBC Hindi radio and Global India, a new primetime programme produced by BBC Hindi TV which will launch on five ETV channels later this week.”

From June 2009, BBC Worldwide Channels made the pan-Asian feeds of CBeebies and BBC Entertainment available in India. This was followed by the relaunch of a dedicated BBC Entertainment channel for India in January 2011, featuring the best of BBC and British content across a range of genres.

Whitehead further said, “In addition, BBC Worldwide operates a TV production business, a content syndication business and Lonely Planet in India. The company is also evaluating the potential for a number of digital initiatives which have been successfully developed in other markets. BBC programmes will also continue to be available on other channels in India, both terrestrial and cable, as well as digitally on our YouTube channel. “

For the record, in Asia, BBC Entertainment is available in Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, besides India. CBeebies is available in Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, besides India.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com