Harsha Subramaniam joins BBC as South Asia Director

Harsha Subramaniam has been appointed as the new BBC Regional Director for South Asia.

He will lead the BBC’s editorial and business operations throughout South Asia, including oversight of the BBC World Service’s multiple language services.

He will also manage a unified leadership team responsible for editorial output, business operations, finance and human resources across the region.

Harsha Subramaniam is a media and technology executive with more than 26 years of experience across television, print, digital publishing and artificial intelligence.

He currently serves as Head of India Partnerships at TollBit, where he focuses on strategic partnerships within the media industry.

Before joining TollBit, he held senior positions at Meta, including Head of Global Content Strategy and Head of News Partnerships for India.

Earlier in his career, he spent a decade at Bloomberg Media India as Executive Producer.

During his tenure, he helped launch Bloomberg TV India and Bloomberg-Quint, strengthening business journalism across the country.

Subramaniam also worked as a news editor and primetime business news anchor for CNBC India.

He holds an MBA alongside journalism qualifications from the Asian College of Journalism.

Speaking after his appointment, Subramaniam said: “I have long admired the BBC’s editorial values, its global reach across multiple languages and its position as the world’s most trusted broadcaster.

“South Asia, with its dynamic and diverse culture, presents an exciting growth opportunity for the BBC.

“I’m honoured to lead the BBC’s presence in the region, and I look forward to working closely with our talented colleagues here.”

The appointment is part of the BBC’s international operating model, which has introduced regional leadership roles to strengthen editorial excellence and operational accountability across key global markets.

According to the broadcaster, its weekly audience across South Asia reached 109 million over the past year.

That figure represents a 14% increase compared to the previous year, highlighting growing demand for BBC journalism throughout the region.

The broadcaster believes the new regional leadership structure will support continued audience growth while maintaining high editorial standards.

Fiona Crack, Interim Global Director of BBC News, welcomed the appointment and praised Subramaniam’s experience.

She said:

“I’m thrilled Harsha will be joining the BBC as the Regional Director for South Asia.”

“He will lead our talented teams across this growing and distinctive market and brings a wealth of journalistic and technological experience to the role.

“We look forward to welcoming him.”

Subramaniam’s appointment comes as the BBC continues expanding its international strategy, with new regional directors also appointed across Africa, Europe and the Americas.

His extensive background in journalism, digital media and technology is expected to help strengthen the BBC’s presence across South Asia while supporting future audience growth and multilingual news coverage.