BBC World Service carried out a strategic review, looking at how to serve our audiences
around the world in an even better way and meet our financial challenges.

The wider BBC World Service strategy sees a greater emphasis on building impact and
delivering long-term audience engagement bringing benefit to our partners and the BBC.
It will support the digital transformation ambitions of the BBC with an increased focus on
BBC platforms. World Service English continues to recognise the value of partnerships and
we look forward our continued collaboration.

Whilst there will be changes, World Service English will continue to offer:

• High-quality international content that transcends borders and cultural divides to facilitate a global conversation
• A multi-genre 24/7 schedule rich mix of programming
• News and Current Affairs still at its core, with some additional live news and sport and feature programmes being introduced
• A clear focus on development of our digital and podcast offer to reach new audiences, especially younger audiences

The changes are driven by a focus on content offering:

• Explanation, context and analysis
• First class storytelling – investigations, documentaries, and human interest
• Engagement and involvement of the audience

Whilst there are some programme closures there is investment in new initiatives which bring benefit to the BBC and our partners across the world.

• 4 April sees the launch of a new 26 minutes 30 second programme explaining new technology, its impact, and meeting the people behind the innovations reshaping lives in every part of our world.
• 20 April sees the launch of a new hour-long programme exploring the world through science, looking at the latest developments and how they may change our lives.
• From 1 April the 08:06 GMT edition of Weekend on Saturday and Sunday will be extended ending at 08:59 GMT (formally ended at 08:29 GMT)
• From 22 April The Forum increases duration to 49 minutes 30 seconds (fromally 40 minutes 30 seconds GMT)
• From 1 April a new 49 minutes 30 seconds slot, Discussion and Documentary, brings together four monthly programmes into a weekly* offer to explore the lives, cultures and attitudes of people from around the world: World Book Club, World Questions, The Documentary Weekend and The Forum.
  • All four programmes can be taken on an individual basis
  • *If there are 5 weeks in a month, there will be a second The Documentary Weekend

• From 1 April new 17 minute 30 second slot, Weekend Insights, brings together
  Trending (24 episodes annually) / The Explanation (20 episodes annually) /
  World of Wisdom (8 episodes annually) into a weekly offer to explain the stories
  the world is sharing via social media, unpacks complex news stories and
  answers your spiritual questions.
  • All three programmes can be taken on an individual basis.
• The 25 March sees the last edition of The Cultural Frontline as a weekly offer, as it becomes 6 ad hoc episodes annually.

The following programmes will be coming to an end:

• The Compass – the last edition will be on the 22 March 2023
• Tech Tent – the last edition will be on the 24 March 2023
• The Science Hour – the last edition will be on the 26 March 2023
• Digital Planet – the last edition will be on the 28 March 2023

Coming Soon

• A new podcast, available Monday to Friday, will look at the news and issues that matter to global 16-24 year-olds. A radio version will be available to our partner stations.

Coming in February 2023

Featuring voices from across the U.S. and around the globe, connect your audience to the world with these unique stories and perspectives. This month, we learn about the history of sadness, celebrate World Radio Day, and discover the science behind being hangry. See below for details and more unique stories.

Visit our website to learn more, and find links to ContentDepot for programs, promos and billboards.

As a BBC affiliate, you have access to rights-cleared videos produced by the BBC. Visit the BBC Media Partner Centre to take advantage of this opportunity and increase your social media presence with consistent, shareable videos centering topics aligned with your audience’s interests.

See below for a curated selection of high-performing videos.

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Docs and Specials

*If you would like to request an air window extension, please contact your station representative. Extensions are considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted subject to rights.

The Documentary: A Short History of Sadness

One hour
Jan 28 – Feb 3, 2023

Author Helen Russell explores humanity’s history of gloom, and the cultural differences in our approach to tackling it.

The Documentary: World Wide Waves ‘23

One hour
Feb 11 – 17, 2023

For World Radio Day on Feb 13 we celebrate the power of radio to change lives through profiles of small community radio stations around the world – from northern Malawi to northern Canada.

The Documentary: No Place Like ‘Nam

One hour
Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2023

March 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the departure of the last American troops from Vietnam. This programme tells the surprising story of US veterans who’ve since returned to Vietnam and made the country their home. We meet both US and Vietnamese vets and learn about the legacy of the war in the country today.

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Monthly BBC Video Selections:

View the instructional guide and social media best practices resource available on our website. Click the links and images below to preview and download these videos.

People Fixing the World: The ‘life-changing’ electric suit

• Description: A special body suit for people with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and strokes has had some remarkable results. It sends electrical stimulation to muscles which can reduce pain and make movement easier. Join Myra Anubi to find out more.
• Suggested social copy: A special body suit for people with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and strokes has had some remarkable results.
• Duration: 2 minutes 27 seconds

People Fixing the World: The ‘window’ saving families from domestic violence

• Description: Police in Iceland have an innovative approach to tackle domestic violence. They target a 24-hour window after an attack is reported. Maddy Savage learns more about the initiative.     
• Suggested social copy: How Iceland uses a 24-hour window to tackle domestic violence.
• Duration: 4 minutes 31 seconds

Health: What is hangry?

• Description: Hangry, a term made up of the two words hungry and angry, has been used to describe the irritable feeling as a result of hunger. It was officially recognised as a word by the Oxford English Dictionary in January 2018 but what is the science behind this physiological state?   
• Suggested social copy: Hangry, a term made up of the two words hungry and angry, has been used to describe the irritable feeling as a result of hunger.
• Duration: 2 minutes 29 seconds

Coming in January 2023

Featuring voices from across the U.S. and around the globe, connect your audience to the world with these unique stories and perspectives. This month, learn about the people of Los Angeles, discover the price of citizenship, and evaluate why we may want personal space. See below for details and more unique stories.

Visit our website to learn more, and find links to ContentDepot for programs, promos and billboards.

As a BBC affiliate, you have access to rights-cleared videos produced by the BBC. Visit the BBC Media Partner Centre to take advantage of this opportunity and increase your social media presence with consistent, shareable videos centering topics aligned with your audience’s interests.

See below for a curated selection of high-performing videos.

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Docs and Specials

*If you would like to request an air window extension, please contact your station representative. Extensions are considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted subject to rights.

The Compass: Sounds of the City: Los Angeles

One hour
Jan 11 – Feb 7, 2023

Peter White heads to Los Angeles to explore the sounds of the city. Peter explores Los Angeles by metro, comes across tales of political intrigue and meets up with a blind friend, who explains how she uses smell as well as sound to guide her on her travels. Peter also encounters numerous homeless people as he moves around LA, and joins them at an impromptu meal prepared by volunteers from a local church.

The Documentary: The Price of Citizenship

One hour
January 14 – 20, 2023

What does it mean to be a citizen? Is it about belonging, or about convenience? Katy Long examines two trends which offer stark alternatives: countries which remove citizenship (or want to), and those which sell it.

The Documentary: Yiddish Glory

One hour
Jan 21 – 27, 2023

The story of a collection of songs in Yiddish that was confiscated by the KGB, and the Jews that wrote them, who sought refuge from the Nazi invaders thousands of miles from home in Central Asia.

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Monthly BBC Video Selections:

View the instructional guide and social media best practices resource available on our website. Click the links and images below to preview and download these videos.People Fixing the World: Pulling energy out of the sky

• Description: A company in Norway has developed a kite that generates electricity as it flies through the air. Find out how in this edition of People Fixing the World.
• Suggested social copy: A company in Norway has developed a kite that generates electricity.
• Duration: 1 minute 35 seconds

Why is that?: The new surgical tool inspired by a wasp

• Description: Scientists in Netherlands have mimicked the way parasitoid wasps lay eggs to design a new tool for keyhole surgery. Currently tools used in these procedures are prone to clogging because they use suction. The new device avoids this by using friction. The team, at Delft University of Technology, have a working prototype and hope the tool will be ready within a few years. With thanks to Aimée Sakes, TUDelft and Andrew Forbes, University of Iowa
• Suggested social copy: A new surgical tool that avoids clogging by using friction instead of suction, similar to the way a parasitoid wasp lays its’ eggs.
• Duration: 1 minute, 23 seconds

Health: Why do we want personal space

• Description: How close is too close? Why are some of us perfectly happy to get up close and personal while others need their space? And why is keeping a healthy distance from each other important to human interaction?
• Suggested social copy: How close is too close, and why do we want personal space?
• Duration: 1 minute 34 seconds

Coming in December 2022

Featuring voices from across the U.S. and around the globe, connect your audience to the world with these unique stories and perspectives. This month, we discover plans to prepare for first contact with extra-terrestrials, learn about pro-women’s surfing and evaluate why standing can be more tiring than walking. See below for details and more unique stories.

Visit our website to learn more, and find links to ContentDepot for programs, promos and billboards.

As a BBC affiliate, you have access to rights-cleared videos produced by the BBC. Visit the BBC Media Partner Centre to take advantage of this opportunity and increase your social media presence with consistent, shareable videos centering topics aligned with your audience’s interests.

See below for a curated selection of high performing videos.

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Docs and Specials

*If you would like to request an air window extension, please contact your station representative. Extensions are considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted subject to rights.

The Documentary: First Contact

One hour
Dec 17, 2022 – Jan 6, 2023

For thousands of years we have gazed up at the stars and wondered: is anybody out there? But today, thinking about meeting life on, or from, other planets is no longer dismissed as pure make-believe – it’s the focus of political consideration and cutting-edge space science. Farrah Jarral presents the story of the fantasy and the reality of preparing for first contact with extra-terrestrials.

The People Vs J Edgar Hoover

Two, one hour documentaries
Episode 1: Dec 24, 2022 – Feb 10, 2023
Episode 2: Dec 25, 2022 – Feb 11, 2023

J Edgar Hoover built then ran the FBI for almost five decades. He turned it from a bureaucratic backwater into a premier crime fighting and counterintelligence force. In the process, he arguably became America’s most powerful man. Today’s fears of a ‘deep state’ – often expressed by Donald Trump and his supporters – of unaccountable government officials working against the public in their own interest – can be traced back to J Edgar Hoover. His job was to enforce the law…but he would not always be bound by it.

The Documentary: Fighting The Waves

One hour
Dec 31, 2022 – Jan 20, 2023

Today, women’s surfing has equal prize money for men and women, and women are an accepted part of the pro-circuit. Wind the clock back 50 years and things were very different – no wetsuits designed for women, barely a sponsorship deal in sight, and undisguised chauvinism from the male surfing establishment. We bring together today’s surf stars, and yesterday’s legends, to tell the story of the first pro-women’s surf tour in 1976.

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Monthly BBC Video Selections:

View the instructional guide and social media best practices resource available on our website. Click the links and images below to preview and download these videos.

People Fixing the World: The dads spreading love to stop fights in school

• Description: Dads on Duty are a team of fathers who patrol Southwood High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. They got together after more than twenty students had been arrested for fighting. With a friendly face and a few dad jokes they’ve helped to reduce the level of violence. Ben Wyatt finds out more about the initiative.
• Suggested social copy: Dads on Duty are a team of fathers who patrol a school in the US.
• Duration: 2 minutes 38 seconds

Why is that?: Why can standing be more tiring than walking?

• Description: Walking takes more energy than standing still, so why isn’t it more tiring? Sports scientist Dr François-Xavier Li explains.
• Suggested social copy: Walking takes more energy than standing still, so why isn’t it more tiring?
• Duration: 2 minutes, 25 seconds

People Fixing the World: The Ikea-style flat-pack home for refugees

• Description: Better Shelter have made thousands of flat-pack homes for refugees around the world. Supported by the Ikea Foundation, the charity aims to improve on the canvas tents in which millions of displaced people have to live. Myra Anubi Syria finds out more.
• Suggested social copy: A shelter for displaced people that comes in a flat-pack and takes a few hours to assemble.
• Duration: 2 minutes 41 seconds

Coming in November 2022

Featuring voices from across the U.S. and around the globe, connect your audience to the world with these unique stories and perspectives. This month, we learn about American safe haven laws, discover why some millionaires are campaigning against their own wealth and celebrate how a wildlife conservationist rescued 1,500 pangolins in Vietnam. See below for details and more unique stories.

Visit our website to learn more, and find links to ContentDepot for programs, promos and billboards.

As a BBC affiliate, you have access to rights-cleared videos produced by the BBC. Visit the BBC Media Partner Centre to take advantage of this opportunity and increase your social media presence with consistent, shareable videos centering topics aligned with your audience’s interests.

See below for a curated selection of high performing videos.

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Docs and Specials

*If you would like to request an air window extension, please contact your station representative. Extensions are considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted subject to rights.

Assignment: America’s Dropbox Babies

30 minutes
Nov 3 – 23, 2022

Safe Haven laws allow troubled mothers to anonymously abandon infants at designated sites shortly after giving birth, without risk of prosecution.

Safe Havens were never intended as an alternative to termination – they were an attempt to counter infanticide. But as the options for women who are unhappily pregnant have become far more limited, some are anticipating an increase in the number of babies left by desperate mothers in hospitals and specially designed Baby Boxes at local fire stations.

The Documentary (Weekend): The Health Wagon

One hour
Nov 19 – Dec 9, 2022

On the road with The Health Wagon in the Appalachian mountains of Southwest Virginia. We join them as they provide no-cost medical, dental and vision care to one of the most vulnerable, medically underserved communities in the United States. In 2021, they treated over 10,000 patients.

The Documentary (Weekend): The Reluctant Millionaires

One hour
Nov 26 – Dec 16, 2022

Why would anyone want to pay more tax? Film maker, activist and multi-millionaire Disney heiress Abigail Disney presents a very personal introduction to the millionaires campaigning against their own wealth. From Morehead, Kentucky to Davos, Switzerland, Washington DC to Orlando, Florida, Abigail tells the story of contemporary wealth inequality, focusing particularly on the United States. What harm is wealth inequality doing to society and democracy and what can be done about it?

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Monthly BBC Video Selections:

View the instructional guide and social media best practices resource available on our website. Click the links and images below to preview and download these videos.

Why is that? The island that’s run almost entirely on renewable energy

• Description: As the world slowly moves away from using fossil fuels for electricity, a tiny Scottish island has shown it’s possible to rely almost entirely on renewables.
  
  The community living on the Isle of Eigg were the first in the world to set up their own off-grid energy system powered by wind, water and the Sun. Since it was launched in 2008, they have received visitors from several other countries wanting to learn more about the project. Community Energy Malawi used their experience to set up a solar minigrid in Sitolo village, a community that previously relied on fossil fuels and firewood.
• Suggested social copy: As the world slowly moves away from using fossil fuels for electricity, a tiny Scottish island has shown it’s possible to rely almost entirely on renewables.
• Duration: 3 minutes 47 seconds

Global Citizen: Pangolin – How do you save the world’s most
trafficked mammal

• Description: Growing up in Vietnam, Thai witnessed a mother and baby pangolin being caught and killed by neighbours in his village. Since that day he has dedicated his life to stopping poaching and educating the Vietnamese public on the importance of pangolin conservation. His partnerships with the government, scientists, veterinarians, and fellow activists has meant that over 1,500 pangolins have been rescued since he founded Save Vietnam’s Wildlife in 2014.
• Suggested social copy: Thai has dedicated his life to stopping poaching and educating the Vietnamese public on the importance of pangolin conservation.
• Duration: 3 minutes, 1 second

Health: How exercise helps your body?

• Description: We are often told that exercise is good for us, but what kind of exercise should we do, and how exactly does it help us stay healthy?
• Suggested social copy: What kind of exercise should we do, and how exactly does it help us stay healthy?
• Duration: 2 minutes 17 seconds

Coming in October 2022

Featuring voices from across the U.S. and around the globe, connect your audience to the world with these unique stories and perspectives. This month, we learn about Xi Jinping, evaluate the undeclared war between Israel and Iran, and discover the bleak reality behind the Red Light District in Amsterdam. See below for details.

Visit our website to learn more, and find links to ContentDepot for programs, promos and billboards.

As a BBC affiliate, you have access to rights-cleared videos produced by the BBC. Visit the BBC Media Partner Centre to take advantage of this opportunity and increase your social media presence with consistent, shareable videos centering topics aligned with your audience’s interests.

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Docs and Specials

*If you would like to request an air window extension, please contact your station representative. Extensions are considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted subject to rights.

The Documentary: Who is Xi Jinping?

One Hour
Oct 15 – 21, 2022

On the eve of a crucial Chinese Communist Party Congress, Celia Hatton paints a portrait of the most powerful leader of the world’s largest nation since Chairman Mao. How did Xi achieve such an iron grip on power? And how will his nationalistic vision change the world?

The Documentary: Out of the Shadows

One hour
Oct 22 – 28, 2022

Assassination, sabotage, cyberattacks – the undeclared war between Israel and Iran is one of the longest running conflicts in the region. Suzanne Kianpour talks to leading players in the region to find out how it all began and where it’s heading.

The Documentary: The bleak reality behind the Red Light District

One hour
Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2022

Stories from people who know the world of sexual exploitation, human trafficking, nuisance and violence in the Red Light District in Amsterdam.

Coming in September 2022

Featuring voices from across the U.S. and around the globe, connect your audience to the world with these unique stories and perspectives. This month, we evaluate the future of Hip Hop, learn about political instability and souring food prices with Pakistani activists and academics, and discover a video that that helps people spot misinformation about Covid-19. See below for details and more unique stories.

Visit our website to learn more, and find links to ContentDepot for programs, promos and billboards.

As a BBC affiliate, you have access to rights-cleared videos produced by the BBC. Visit the BBC Media Partner Centre to take advantage of this opportunity and increase your social media presence with consistent, shareable videos centering topics aligned with your audience’s interests.

See below for a curated selection of high performing videos.

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Docs and Specials

*If you would like to request an air window extension, please contact your station representative. Extensions are considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted subject to rights.

The Documentary: The Future of Hip Hop

Two one-hour documentaries
Episode 1: Sep 10 – 30, 2022
Episode 2: Sep 17 – Oct 7, 2022

Will Hip Hop be less homophobic and misogynistic in the future? Cakes Da Killa has paved the way as an openly gay rapper and in this two-part series, based in New York and Atlanta, he meets queer artists and females to discuss how far they’ve come – and where they want to go.

World Questions – Pakistan

One hour
Sep 10 – Oct 7, 2022

A panel of young Pakistani activists, academics and journalists answer questions put to them by Pakistani youth across the country and across the world. Political instability, soaring food prices, migration, foreign policy and the role of the army will likely be up for discussion, in a virtual debate hosted by the BBC’s Jonny Dymond.

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Monthly BBC Video Selections:

View the instructional guide and social media best practices resource available on our website. Click the links and images below to preview and download these videos.

People Fixing the World: The game that shows people how to spot fake news

• Description: Researchers at Cambridge University have developed a video game that helps people to spot misinformation about Covid-19. Go Viral! shows players the methods used to spread fake news so they can identify it in future.
• Suggested social copy: Researchers have developed a game which shows players how fake news is spread.
• Duration: 2 minute 53 seconds

Why is that?: Yeast – An unlikely hero in the fight against climate change?

• Description: Like us, yeast produce carbon dioxide – but scientists have found a way to modify one species to suck the greenhouse gas out of the air instead. They are now working to scale it up and hope to see huge tanks of yeast built next to factories, so it can capture their carbon dioxide emissions before they enter the atmosphere.
• Suggested social copy: Scientists in Austria have modified yeast to suck CO2 out of the air.
• Duration: 2 minutes

Health: How much should we eat?

• Description: Keeping a balance diet and eating the right amount of food isn’t always easy, particularly with the temptation of junk food. Some people count calories, others follow a strict meal plan, but is there an easier way to work out how much to eat? Turns out, the answer is in our hands.
• Suggested social copy: Is there an easy way to work out how much to eat?
• Duration: 2 minutes 3 seconds

Coming in August 2022

Featuring voices from across the U.S. and around the globe, connect your audience to the world with these unique stories and perspectives. This month, we evaluate green transport and the transparency of their supply chains, learn about the wheat industry and how it’s been effected by the war in Ukraine, and discover how Gnanli Landrou has created a far less polluting building material by mixing mud with a special powder. See below for details and more unique stories.

Visit our website to learn more, and find links to ContentDepot for programs, promos and billboards.

As a BBC affiliate, you have access to rights-cleared videos produced by the BBC. Visit the BBC Media Partner Centre to take advantage of this opportunity and increase your social media presence with consistent, shareable videos centering topics aligned with your audience’s interests.

See below for a curated selection of high performing videos.

---

Docs and Specials

*If you would like to request an air window extension, please contact your station representative. Extensions are considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted subject to rights.

Witness History – Viruses and Vaccines

One hour
August 1 – 31, 2022

For the CDC’s ‘National immunisation awareness month’, a special program devoted to viruses and humanity’s battle against them. We’ll hear first-hand accounts from the Flu pandemic of 1918, revisit the SARS epidemic, and meet one of the first people vaccinated as a child against polio – the son of Dr Jonas Salk.

The Compass: Green Energy – Some Inconvenient Truths

Two one-hour documentaries

Episode 1: Transport and Renewables
Aug 17 – Sep 17, 2022

Green transport is crucial to a net zero future, but how transparent are the supply chains bringing the world the components we need, and how green is the electricity we are using to power electric cars anyway? Then, we visit one of the windiest places on earth to hear how locals support green energy – but not when it means the destruction of the local landscape.

Episode 2: Iceland and Finance
Aug 31 – Sep 17, 2022

Iceland produces five times more green energy than its population needs. But what to do with the excess has led to controversy. Then, how is the world going to get to net zero by 2050 and who is paying the bill? Hard choices must be made as we abandon fossil fuels, and every solution to global warming has an impact and unintended consequences.

The Bread Line

One hour
Aug 27 – Sep 16, 2022

From field to bakery, we follow the ‘bread line’ and hear the stories of those in the wheat industry who are winning, and those who are losing, due to the global food crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine.

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Monthly BBC Video Selections:

View the instructional guide and social media best practices resource available on our website. Click the links and images below to preview and download these videos.

People Fixing the World: The Man Turning Mud into Eco-Friendly ‘Concrete’

• Description: Gnanli Landrou has invented a special powder that can turn mud into a solid building material. It’s inspired by houses where he grew up in West Africa. It’s far less polluting than concrete – and it’s about to be used in a new apartment block.
• Suggested social copy: The man who has invented a special powder that can turn mud into a solid building material.
• Duration: 3 minute 33 seconds

Health: Why do we need to sleep well?

• Description: How much sleep do we need, why are not we getting it, and what effect is that having on us? Here are five ways to make sure you get enough to stay healthy.
• Suggested social copy: How much sleep do we need, why are not we getting it, and what effect is that having on us?
• Duration: 2 minutes 22 seconds

Global Citizen: ‘I sort out piles of human hair’

• Description: Fry founded the Green Salon Collective which is encouraging sustainability in the hairdressing industry. The collective recycles everything from bleach and dye to people’s actual hair. Video produced by Daniel South, Trystan Young and Jasmin Souesi.
• Suggested social copy: Fry founded the Green Salon Collective which is encouraging sustainability in the hairdressing industry.
• Duration: 2 minutes 38 seconds