BBC Worldwide closes channels in India

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British public broadcaster, is shutting down two of its channels BBC Entertainment and Cbeebies.

The company is closing the channels because of delays in digitisation and the cost that cable platforms charge for carriage.

However, it would continue to run BBC World News in the country.

The decision was taken by Mark Whitehead, senior vice president and general manager, BBC Worldwide Channels Asia.

“The decision to withdraw BBC Entertainment and CBeebies has not been an easy one; India is a dynamic and fast growing media market but remains uniquely challenging for pay TV channels. Specifically, delays in digitisation and the need for channel operators to pay cable platforms for carriage makes the economics of running channels very challenging at this time,” he said.