A short history of BBC World Service
The beginning
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) first broadcast outside Britain in December 1932. Overseas broadcasts on the 'Empire Service' were meant to unite the English-speaking peoples of what was then the British Empire.
Shortly after broadcasts started, King George V became the first monarch to deliver a Christmas Day message by radio. He addressed "men and women so cut off by the snows and the deserts that only voices out of the air can reach them".
The Second World War years
Our first non-English language services (Arabic and Latin American Spanish) started in 1938. At the beginning of the Second World War, we were broadcasting in seven languages.
The BBC was felt by many listeners to offer a more balanced view of the world than other broadcasters. It gained a reputation for accuracy and impartiality during this time, leading to a peacetime commitment to independent reporting. By the end of the War, there were 45 separate language services and our English Service was broadcasting 24 hours a day around the world.
In 1940, the External Services (which replaced the Empire Service) moved into Bush House in Central London, which is still the headquarters of BBC World Service today.
Plans exist, however, for World Service to join BBC Radio and BBC News at a modern centre for global broadcasting by the end of the decade. This new complex will be located at the BBC's general London headquarters, Broadcasting House.
After the War
The post-War years saw a "transistor revolution" leading to a huge increase in the number of radios worldwide. This resulted in a huge global radio audience, for which BBC World Service and many other broadcasters compete. The latest BBC global audience research estimates 183 million regular listeners. Of these, about 37.6 million listen in English.
The External Services were renamed BBC World Service in 1988, and today we broadcast in English and 32 other languages.
Find out more about the history of BBC World Service.
You can find out more about the history of the BBC as a whole on the BBC Story website.
