A New Audience for Pakistan

Available for over a year

What’s brought a new wave of Pakistani listeners to BBC World Service English? And why Hardtalk’s interview with a South African politician divided audience opinion. In the second installment of our examination of the Global Audience Measurement figures – Over To You investigates which countries have welcomed the biggest increase to their audience and why. Rajan Datar speaks to Santanu Chakrabarti, the Head of Audience Insight for the World Service, to hear what’s brought new listeners to Nigeria, Tanzania and the USA. In addition, as Pakistan has experienced one of the biggest rises in listenership – the BBC’s Pakistan Correspondent Shaimaa Khalil discusses why the network’s output resonates with this audience and responds to listeners’ questions. And – a closer look at why Hardtalk’s recent interview with South African politician Mmusi Maimane led some listeners to question the presenter’s impartiality. Photo: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images