Mumbai: Reliance Communications has made available BBC World News for the first time as a mobile streaming (unicast) service 24 hours a day for Reliance Mobile users across India. Through this agreement, Reliance Mobile users can access BBC’s trademark live breaking news and landmark programming initiatives as they happen directly on their handsets.

Reliance Communications became the first telecom operator (CDMA) to provide mobile streaming (unicast) service in India in 2004. Mobile TV on Reliance Mobile World is already a very popular service representing different genre of content such as TV news and shows, music, cricket and sports, fashion and glamour. Reliance provides hours of latest entertainment, and information based rich media content through eleven TV channels to its subscribers. They have been available to several millions of users with Reliance Mobile World enabled handsets supporting TV streaming (unicast) service, for many years.

Hosted on the Reliance Mobile World (R World), the Mobile TV menu offers unique experience in viewing BBC World News’ popular content including the Network’s latest programming. As the streaming is on-line 24×7, Reliance Mobile customers can watch their favorite programs conveniently from anywhere even while on the move within the state or traveling across the country.

Worldwide trend showcases how consumers are upgrading from ringtones and wallpapers, the mainstays of the mobile entertainment, to more advanced features like mobile TV and propelling the growth of TV on the mobile phones by leaps and bounds. In countries like South Korea and Japan, Mobile TV is already a way of life. Other countries in the Americas and Europe are fast catching up.

Commenting on the tie-up, Reliance communications head VAS business & marketing Krishna Durbha said, "Today lakhs of mobile phones on Reliance Communication network are unicast streaming enabled. Through these phones, Reliance Mobile customers can watch more than eleven TV channels 24 x 7. We are proud that Reliance Communications is one of the very few telecom operators in the world to provide such a service. Our association with BBC World News will enable us to provide up-to-the-minute international news coverage to our subscribers."

Global Channels, South Asia general manager Nachiket Pantvaidya said "Globally, BBC World News is a successful tri-media news service delivering international news and information across multiple platforms of TV, online and mobile. It has been our endeavour that the highest number of mobile users in India can have access to the news coverage that the BBC is synonymous with. We are happy that our association with Reliance Communications has helped us facilitate the same."