Dubai: To mark its 77th anniversary, BBC Arabic is launching a new radio schedule, and new programmes to be broadcast from Cairo and London. To celebrate the anniversary, BBC Arabic will host a concert of classical Arabic music on Saturday 31 January at Broadcasting House in London, the building that saw the launch of BBC broadcasts in Arabic in 1938.
Tarek Kafala, the Head of BBC Arabic said: “This is a very exciting time for BBC Arabic. We are reaching our biggest audiences in our 77 years and developing in ways that will make us more relevant and essential than ever, on all platforms. Today, we’re celebrating radio, the medium on which our reputation is built. The investment in new programmes and a new schedule shows our deep commitment to radio and our listeners, the heart and foundation of BBC Arabic.”
Recent audience research (2014) shows BBC Arabic’s overall audience reach has risen by more than 11% to 36.2 million adults weekly - up from 32.5 million in 2012 to 2013. Since the ‘Arab Spring’ in 2010, BBC Arabic’s weekly audience has risen from 21.6 to 36.2 million - an increase of 68%.
