For the first time, the BBC’s international news services are to use chat apps to broadcast to even more people around the globe.
As BBC World News marks 25 years of TV news broadcasting, the channel’s international current affairs programme Our World will use Viber to tell the story of a kidnapping that took place in Mexico, publishing posts via a BBC public channel within the app. It will be delivered to Viber users across a week, replicating the timeline of the original events as told by the victims. This will then be tied in with the television broadcast of the half hour documentary Our World: Kidnapped in Mexico.
For their audiences on the continent and beyond, BBC Africa will be using WhatsApp to tell the story of young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who are using new online ways to get their voices heard and bring change to their country. Across five days clips will be shared from its documentary ‘Young, Angry and Connected’.
The pilot projects, which are set to start from this weekend, mark a significant step forward for the BBC’s use of instant messaging platforms. The broadcaster has been experimenting with chat apps in countries where mobile use outstrips desktop and to reach those people who would not necessarily access its journalism via traditional means. They were trialled as a way of gathering and sharing content during the 2014 Indian Elections and then again during the Ebola crisis, which saw thousands of people across West Africa signed up to receive the latest news and lifesaving information. But the use of the platforms to share content from its documentaries breaks new ground, helping to extend the life and reach of TV programmes.
Trushar Barot, BBC’s Mobile & Apps Editor, explained:
“There are now more users of chat apps globally than there are people on social media. That’s why BBC World Service is focussed on experimenting and developing long term strategies for these platforms. Using them is second nature to hundreds of millions of people around the world. These are the next generation of digital audiences we want to reach out to. Two years ago, we were the first news organisation to develop news accounts in chat apps, but we know we have to continue to innovate on them. Working with the likes of Viber to trial projects like this enables us learn quickly and deliver the types of digital content our audiences are going to increasingly expect.â€Â
Our World: Kidnapped in Mexico on Viber – from 6th March
For the first time a linear TV documentary about a real life kidnapping case is being broken down and retold for users of a public channel on Viber. Users following the channel at viber.com/bbcstories will be able to follow the story of a kidnap victim and his wife told in text, images and animations, as if it were happening in real time. The posts will run across a week, around the broadcast of correspondent Vladimir Hernandez’s TV documentary on Friday, March 11th.
Jo Mathys, of the BBC’s Impact team, who developed the chat apps project said:
“What I find exciting about this project is the ability to tell a story as if in real time, and the sense of immediacy that chat app platforms provide. It’s as if the characters are talking directly to the audience. It’s a very different way of story-telling. There’s potential to tell a wide range of current affairs stories using this format.â€Â
The full documentary Our World: Kidnapped in Mexico will be broadcast on BBC World News on Friday March 11th at 2030 GMT with repeats on Saturday March 12th at 1130, 1630 & 2230 GMT and on Sunday March 13th at 0330 & 1730 GMT.
Young, Angry and Connected on WhatsApp- from the 7th March
BBC Africa’s first ever WhatsApp series “Young, Angry and Connected†will bring the story of young Africans using social media and their mobiles to get their voices heard, to an audience in a unique way. The series will launch on Monday, March 7th and run until Friday, March 11th. A daily clip of around 2-3 minutes will be delivered to those who subscribe to the WhatsApp service number (+44 7734778817) and will be available in French and English. Once the number is added, users can write SIGN UP for English and SOUSCRIRE to receive editions in French. The documentary will then be available in full on BBC.com/Africa and bbcafrique.com at the end of the week.
WhatsApp is hugely popular, and a widely used app for people to communicate, including those involved in the story of Young, Angry and Connected. Many of those featured in the programme depend on WhatsApp to communicate to their peers across the country.
Vladimir Hernandez, Correspondent and Assistant Editor for World Service said:
“The rising youth groups in Africa are mobile-first and bringing their story to a wider audience on a chat app is the perfect new way of telling their story.â€Â
