BBC World Service East Asia

The BBC World Service for East Asia is the BBC's international news service tailored to the East Asian region. The programme carries the English-language news, current affairs and features of the World Service, scheduled for listeners in time zones from China and Japan to Southeast Asia, with reports on regional developments, business and culture. The tone is calm and impartial, and the coverage looks at global stories as well as at events in the area.

The BBC World Service began in 1932 as the Empire Service and has grown into one of the most widely listened-to international broadcasters, reaching audiences through shortwave, FM relays, satellite and the internet. For many listeners in Asia, it is a useful source of clear English and a way to follow international news. As a public service of the BBC, the content is not commercially sponsored. The programming is largely speech, with documentaries, discussions and interviews. Access to BBC services can be restricted in some countries, which may affect availability. This stream is delivered as MP3 at 56 kbps, a low bitrate that keeps speech intelligible while using very little data, which suits slow connections. It plays in your browser on RadioKite, and you can add it to your favourites.