100 years of trust - How BBC has stood the test of time

Authored by Stanley Fernandes, Vice President, South Asia, BBC Studios

For Generation X, like myself, our journey with the BBC began on black-and-white television with our national broadcaster, Doordarshan. Shows like ‘Allo ‘Allo, Yes, Minister, Yes Prime Minister, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served, helped build our affinity with the brand. BBC World News at 11:15 pm consolidated our radio introduction to the BBC.

BBC shows nudged us to be global citizens long before cable and digital subscription services opened the doors to Hollywood content. We grew up and grew old watching content from the BBC and introduced the next generation to it. The value of a strong brand stands the test of time and at its core is its audience; 100 years in the making, it’s known to be the oldest and largest news institution that has gone beyond just producing news and into delivering content across various genres. Talk about strong brands, the three blocks that spell the BBC, spell ‘power brand!’ and more so at its heart was the trustworthiness of the news; across India people were glued to radios and transistors (yeah, remember them?) to listen to the news relaying gospel truth. 

2022 marks the centenary year of the BBC as it launched its radio service in 1922. It has since been a veritable source of news and information that’s independent, impartial, reliable, and truthful and a world-leading content producer and distributor across every possible premium genre through its commercial subsidiary BBC Studios. From its inception, through the Second World War, to the popularisation of television in the post-WW2 era and through the internet in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the BBC has played a prominent role not only locally in the United Kingdom, but around the world. 

The BBC in India may be synonymous with news, and rightly so, from its humble beginnings on the radio, to now being made available on radio, television, and digital platforms. Today BBC News is consumed in eight Indian languages. BBC News is known for its reportage that delivers the highest quality in editorial standards, without fear or favour. Sir Mark Tully, the former BBC Bureau Chief for India, and an Indophile, spearheaded the demand and appreciation for uncensored coverage. Respected, loved, and sometimes despised for his non-partisan stand, he was admired enough to be given the Padma Bhushan Award (the third highest civilian award given by the Government of India), for meritorious service to humanity. 

It is fair to say BBC News continues to be the discerning choice for the international news aficionado - ask my octogenarian Mum who begins her day with BBC World News playing in the background while she sips her morning cuppa.

Leading on, the BBC sealed our love for nature and wildlife with Sir David Attenborough taking us across continents, under the seas, over mountains, deep into forests, deserts, and through the passage of time. Professor Brian Cox consolidates our knowledge and understanding of space and the wonders of science.

In the new millennia, with audiences at its heart, the BBC’s brands are a bigger part of our pop culture than we know it and go well beyond news. An eye-opening moment that demonstrated the impact the BBC has with Indian audiences goes back to 2014 for me. Mark Gatiss attended the Mumbai Film and Comic Con Festival to promote the hugely popular BBC Studios/Hartswood Films’ Sherlock.  It was only when the audience in tandem started chanting “Doctor Who… Doctor Who..” upon seeing him that I realised we were only touching the surface of the BBC brand’s affinity with local audiences – what you should know is that Doctor Who had yet to be launched on Indian television, the show’s popularity preceded its arrival. ‘Go Whovians!’ You speak to my heart or should I say, to the two hearts of the Doctor. 

I often marvel at how deeply Indian audiences engage with the content BBC produces, both in the UK and locally in India. I’ve seen its presence on linear TV from Zee Café, AXN, Colors Infinity, Star FX, Comedy Central, and VH1, to digital, on Amazon, Disney+Hotstar, MX Player, BookMyShow, Lionsgate, Zee 5, Voot, HOOQ, Hungama, Discovery+, Sony Liv, and the answer is simple – brilliant storytelling. Narratives that transcend borders, appeal to the mind, and more importantly to the heart. Whether it is captured in bold portrayals of the fictionalised drama such as Ragdolls - a story of a serial killer sewing bodies to form a ragdoll; or inspired by the real-life murders in Nottinghamshire that led to one of the largest manhunts in British history, in Sherwood; or the mucking about with cars and camaraderie in the globally popular Top Gear, or understanding how perilous life is, in the Frozen Planet series.

If you’re questioning the dialogue of matter, energy, time, and space that began with the Universe forming 14 billion years ago, look no further than our JV branded channel Sony BBC Earth. It features intimate stories, and at times, surprising truths about nature, science, and us, humans. If you’re looking for a fun, safe environment for your little tots to watch television, look no further than CBeebies, a preschool brand that focuses on learning through play, with content formulated by child specialists and trusted by parents across the country.

The BBC has always taken creative risks in what it produces; some have won accolades, others have won fandom status, and then again some have been critiqued, but it has always moved on with ambition and optimism. True to the Royal Charter that it was established under, the BBC produces content that informs, educates, and entertains. I for one, along with my octogenarian Mum will be travelling the world as we watch – The Travel Show. Cheers to more great content! Cheers to 100 and more years!

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