Monday, June 30, 2014

BBC Urdu radio now available on mobile phones via AudioBoo app

BBC Urdu has further strengthened its mobile offer by making its flagship radio programme, Sairbeen, available as a free app via the audio-sharing channel, AudioBoo on audioboo.fm/channel/bbcurdu.
 
BBC Urdu and BBC World Service West and Central Asia Hub Editor, Aamer Ahmed Khan, says: "We have been listening to our audiences – especially those connecting with us via social media – who said they wanted access to our radio programmes via mobile-phone apps. Now, thanks to our presence on AudioBoo, anyone with a smartphone can tune into Sairbeen every day, using this simple app. They can also use the app to connect with BBC Urdu, sharing their thoughts and experiences. It's an excellent development which will certainly boost our radio audience."
 
AudioBoo Content Editor, Susie Warhurst, says: "We are absolutely delighted that BBC Urdu is joining AudioBoo to share their world-class journalism with an even wider audience. News and Current Affairs audio from around the globe is at the heart of AudioBoo's heritage and its future growth. We're very proud this new partnership brings even more breaking news and in-depth analysis to our users."
 
The move is part of BBC Urdu's commitment to serve audiences on platforms of their choice and is in response to the ever-increasing popularity of news consumption via mobile phones. The launch of Sairbeen on AudioBoo - which has special apps for a range of smartphones and allows users to access it with average speed on mobile internet - has a strong potential to considerably expand the listenership base of the BBC Urdu radio programme which has long been a household name in Pakistan.
 
According to the BBC's newly released Global Audience Estimate, audiences of BBC World Service – of which BBC Urdu is part - are young and mobile. Mobile audiences deliver around a third of the traffic* to the BBC Urdu website which also has over 1.8 million fans on Facebook.
 
Audiences can go to the Audioboo website to download an app suitable for to their phone-operating system, and then search for the BBC Urdu channel. BBC Urdu plans to add more audio news content to its AudioBoo channel.
 
*Source: Omniture May 2014, BBC Urdu's monthly mobile unique views (UVs) = 697,000 and total traffic to BBC Urdu = 2.3m UVs.
 
(BBC Press Release)

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