BBC Janala media products – use and reach

Over 44 million people are aware of at least one EIA media (BBC Janala) product, and 28 million people have watched or used one. Over 10.25 million people are regular users of EIA media (BBC Janala) products - this compares to 7.5 million in 2011.

• • English language learning drama show Bishaash was seen by 20.3 million viewers.
• • The first series of Mojay Mojay Shekha attracted 18.1 million viewers.
• • The second series was watched by 14.2 million during the first  month.
• • Youth-based edutainment show BBC Buzz reached 4.8 million viewers.
• • Almost 3.4 million have read the English learning lessons published in the newspaper Prothom Alo. The number of 
•   weekly  lesson readers is high, at almost 1.2 million.
• • The web-based Amar Engreji course launched in March 2012. Since then, almost 204,000 have registered for it.
• • To August 2012, the website was visited by over 1.7 million users; an average 2500 visits per day.
• •  From its launch in 2009 to November 2014, the BBC Janala mobile service has received almost 25 million calls
• •  50,000 BBC Janala English learning CDs have been sold.

Attitudes/perceptions

3 years after the launch of the BBC Janala platform: Increased motivation

• • 8.8 million people felt they had learnt English from BBC Janala media products
• • 7.7 million said they used the English learnt from BBC Janala.
• • 6 million could provide a specific example of the English learnt
• • 68% who felt they learnt something from BBC Janala, could recall words or phrases learnt in English.
• • Mobile phone users who were tracked over a year had increased motivation and confidence to use English.
• • A four-year cohort panel study showed that website usage increased significantly from 5% to 35%.
• • Five-moth drama panel research showed that panellists who watched Bishaash and Mojay Mojay Shekha regularly  
•   were motivated to use other BBC Janala products, including BBC Janala Mobile and Prothom Alo lessons.

Reducing Barriers

• •    Fewer people (22%) think English is “difficult to learn” than the baseline study (44%).
• •    Fewer people (38%) think English is “expensive to learn” compared to the baseline (27%).
• •    Over a third of TV viewers (38%) from the lowest socioeconomic class are using BBC Janala.
• •    BBC Janala is attracting a strong female audience - 44% of users are female.

Developing an ELT - supportive media environment

• •    A national newspaper launched English lessons using a cartoon character similar to BBC Janala’s Rinku.
• •    With help from a private university, a national English daily launched an English learning course for
•       secondary school children.

 Two media training courses took place in 2012 with ELT professionals. Media practitioners working to produce EIA products learn new skills, knowledge and working practices, which they can apply to the Bangladesh media sector.