The BBC in the Arab world
BBC Arabic – an integrated multimedia offer
BBC Arabic is the BBC's integrated news and information service for the Arab world. It is available on air and on-demand 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is designed to reach audiences on radio, television, the internet, mobiles and handheld computers in whatever way best suits the audience.
BBC Arabic is both the largest and the oldest of the BBC's non-English language services. Launched on 3 January 1938, it has evolved into the Arab world's leading international broadcaster.
It covers the political, social and cultural issues that matter to its diverse audiences in the Arab world and across the world.
With its new TV presence, BBC Arabic will bring the world to Arab audiences – reporting the news wherever it leads.
BBC Arabic is renowned for broadcasting impartial and accurate news and information which is strong on analysis and expertise. This enhanced service will continue in that tradition and put the audience's needs and concerns at the heart of its agenda. It will be contemporary in its style and independent and penetrating in its journalism.
Independent research shows that existing Arab audiences to the BBC regard it as the most trusted, impartial and objective international radio news provider in the Arab world, with an established reputation for quality. BBC Arabic's award-winning 24/7 online news and information service also enjoys high levels of trust in its content.
BBC Arabic's commitment to involve audiences in its output through interactive formats on all platforms already fosters informed discussion and debate. With the advent of TV, BBC Arabic's ability to expand this ambition will further showcase the widest range of views and opinion on the big issues of the day and extra opportunities for audiences to participate widely themselves.
The Head of BBC Arabic, Hosam El Sokkari, says: "BBC Arabic aims to broaden the news agenda for audiences in the region. It involves viewers and listeners in its output, giving them the opportunity to debate, comment and engage with each other and the BBC. This is a news service in which the audience can really participate and enrich our programming."
The latest news from BBC Arabic is now available on mobile phones, PDAs and other wireless handheld devices. BBC Arabic breaking-news alerts are also offered via mobile operators as a subscription service in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen.
Two-minute news bulletins, updated every hour on the half-hour, are offered via mobile phone operators in Egypt and Iraq.
Unparalleled strength in newsgathering
The key to the BBC's coverage of the Middle East lies in its vast network of correspondents reporting from the Arab world.
Although programmes are produced from studios in London and Cairo, BBC Arabic has its own correspondents in key locations in the region and key international capitals.
While reporting from the Arab world is vital, the BBC also ensures that the international perspective and wider global agenda is brought to Arab audiences.
BBC Arabic draws upon the BBC's unmatched newsgathering resources across the world. BBC News audiences everywhere can draw on the eye-witness reportage and expert analysis of at least 250 correspondents in 72 bureaux.
Working alongside the BBC's international network are BBC Arabic journalists in Europe, (including Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey) as well as Canada, China and the US.
"BBC Arabic audiences want excellent international news; the kind which only an organisation like the BBC, the largest newsgathering organisation in the world, can deliver," says Head of BBC Arabic, Hosam El Sokkari. "We aim to bring the world and the region to our audiences; to be their eyes and ears on the ground around the world."
BBC Arabic's audience figure
BBC Arabic's international acclaim translates into impressive audience figures – over 13 million people listen to the BBC Arabic radio every week, according to independent surveys where it is possible to measure audiences in the Arab world. The bbcarabic.com website currently receives over 21 million page impressions each month and over one million unique users.
They are part of 233 million people who use one or more of the BBC's global news services on television, radio and online every week. This includes 183 million who listen to the BBC World Service on radio in 33 languages every week; 76 million who watch BBC World in English; and around 12 million weekly online users. Many individuals use more than one medium.
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