BBC to broadcast live from India from April

The BBC will broadcast live from India for the first time, starting next month.

BBC Global News will cover the initial phase of the general elections in April, followed by other live programming. The channel already has regular content such as India Business Report in a weekend slot. At the beginning of this year, it took shows like ‘Hard Talk’ to India.

Jim Egan, chief executive, BBC Global News, said, “Obviously, it’s a huge year in India and there is a lot of global attention around the Lok Sabha elections. We think a lot about Indian programming. We have to think both about (catering to) our Indian audiences, as well as global interest in India. We always have this dual focus in what we do.”

Exchange4Media reports that BBC Global News ran a special season of ‘India Direct’ last month, which included topics such as technology, culture and sports.

The elections analysis programming will be anchored by Jon Sopel and Mishal Husain.