The BBC attracts a record weekly global audience of 241 million people to its international news services like BBC World Service and the BBC World News television channel, according to independent surveys. This is up three million on last year's overall audience estimate.

However, the multimedia BBC World Service lost 20 million short wave radio listeners during the year; reflecting the increasing global decline of the medium.

But during the year BBC World Service attracted around nine million new viewers to its television, online and mobile services; in addition to new listeners to BBC radio programmes through local FM and medium wave radio partner stations in a number of countries.

BBC Global News Director, Peter Horrocks, said: "BBC Global News's record audience demonstrates that people come to us for journalism that is challenging and asks difficult questions, yet respects different points of view and actively encourages debate.

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