LONDON (Kyodo) BBC Japan, the British Broadcasting Corp.'s channel dedicated to Japanese viewers, has had an encouraging start since its December launch, but senior managers acknowledge that the choice of a digital platform has caused criticism.
The channel, a mixture of light entertainment, documentaries and educational shows, has had a "very positive reaction" and early research shows the audience is largely Japanese, according to Richard Sambrook, director of the BBC's global news division.
Viewing figures are not available yet for the new channel, but at its launch officials said they hoped to attract 100,000 subscribers in the first year.