Industry

Starting today, audiences across Japan can watch the BBC News channel on U-NEXT, available 24/7 in both English and Japanese. This marks U-NEXT's first international news offering.

BBC News, trusted by 414 million people globally each week, recently ranked among the top 15 news providers in Japan, and is the only international brand in that list. It's also the #1 international online news brand in Japan.

Phil Hardman, SVP & General Manager at BBC Studios Asia, said: We’re delighted to expand our partnership with U-NEXT and bring the BBC News channel, including its groundbreaking documentaries, to our audiences in both English and Japanese. The BBC continues to report impartially and without fear or favour on global events and we know our journalism is greatly trusted in Japan".

Tenshin Tsutsumi, President of U-NEXT, celebrated the launch, emphasizing the service's commitment to providing high-quality documentary and news content:We are very pleased to announce the launch of the international news broadcaster BBC News on the video distribution service U-NEXT, delivering global news 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in two languages".

BBC Studios and U-NEXT have a longstanding partnership, offering diverse content, including factual documentaries, drama series, and children's programming in Japanese.