BBC Bangla


BBC News Bangla is the Bengali language service of the BBC World Service, inaugurated in 1941 for Bengali audiences worldwide especially the ones in the Bengal region, which includes the sovereign state of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura. It conveys the latest political, social, economic and sports news relevant to India, Bangladesh and the world.

History

BBC Bangla was launched on 11 October 1941 with a 15-minute programme under the BBC World Service. BBC Bangla's headquarters used to be Bush House, but since 2012, it has been broadcast from Broadcasting House in London as well as from BBC bureaux in Dhaka and Kolkata. In September 2022, BBC Bangla announced its cessation of radio broadcasts due to financial reasons.
On 31 December 2022, BBC Bangla officially ceased broadcasting on radio after 81 years of service, following the Parikrama program. Despite this, it continued its existence on television and the internet.

Broadcasting

The programmes of BBC News Bangla are broadcast on their website, television, social media sites like Facebook and YouTube. BBC Bangla reaches over a million Bengali speaking people. Its radio and online services have listeners from many Bengali communities including those in Bangladesh, West Bengal, Tripura and Assam.

Programming

BBC News Bangla mainly focuses on news-based daily programming and political news. They also broadcast entertainment programmes, sports news, news analysis, and discussion about daily newspapers' lead stories. In addition, they respond to and discuss messages and opinions from the audience.

Broadcasts on FM Radio

BBC Bangla stopped its radio broadcasts on December 31, 2022, after 81 years of service.
BBC Bangladesh Songlap was a live programme of the BBC Bangla service broadcast in association with Bangladeshi satellite channel Channel i from 2005 to 2015 in three seasons. The main focus of this programme was questions from the general public to relevant authorities about important issues.