BBC To Launch Broadcasting Services In Yoruba And Pidgin

The UK Government is about to inject £85m a year in enhancing and expanding BBC services around the world including in Russia, North Korea, the Middle East and Africa (Yoruba, Somali) as part of its expansion programme.

The list of services to be expanded using the funding include enhanced TV services for Africa, new radio services for audiences in North Korea and radio and digital services for Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Details of which languages the BBC will broadcast in to Ethiopia and Eritrea will be announced later.
The BBC will also expand TV, radio and digital offerings in Somalia, India, Nigeria and Thailand.
A TV service will be added to the existing service for Somalia.
For Nigeria, a digital service will be started in Pidgin and Yoruba.
"Pidgin is a popular language among young people in Nigeria and across West Africa," said Liliane Landor, controller of languages at the World Service.
It will also help boost digital and TV services for Russian speakers, both in Russia and the surrounding communities.
The corporation presently reaches 308 million people worldwide, and it hopes to increase the number to 500 million by 2022.