German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) is expanding its journalistic offering to include Tamil as its 32nd broadcast language from November 1. The DW Tamil YouTube channel would complement programmes in other Indian languages like Hindi, Bengali and Urdu.

The new YouTube channel DW Tamil is aimed primarily at a young, well-educated and urban audience not only in the southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu, but also Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States. Worldwide, some 70 million people speak Tamil.

The reach of DW has grown significantly in India, marked by the launch of a new DW bureau in New Delhi in March 2021. The southern Indian states, including Tamil Nadu, attach great importance to their language. DW’s effort to expand its YouTube language services to Tamil and customize its offering catering to these particularities, the broadcaster said in a press statement.

DW Director General Peter Limbourg said: “By broadcasting in Tamil, we will be able to reach a region whose people, on the one hand, are economically very progressive. On the other (hand), they maintain a traditional image of society. In addition to our reports from Europe and the region, poverty reduction, the role of women in society and environmental protection will also be key topics for our users.”

The new Tamil editorial team consists of five journalists. One editor plans and organizes the offering from Bonn, while four work on the ground in Tamil Nadu. “Only when we are on the ground can we find strong stories to tell professionally and authentically. That’s what DW stands for,” said Debarati Guha, DW Director, Programs for Asia.

In time for the launch of the new service, DW also won a new partner broadcaster for South India, Puthiyathalaimurai TV, which is a Chennai-based news channel. The company will work together with DW to produce a Tamil-language version of the successful DW format “Eco India”, which focuses on environmental and sustainability topics, the statement added.

DW has been recording very high usage figures for months. Monthly access to the digital offerings remains constant above the one billion mark, and weekly user contacts are at 289 million.

According to DW Managing Director, Programming, Gerda Meuer said: “Young people between the ages of 16 and 25 are confronted with decisions that will determine the course of their future lives. What should I study? How do I want to work? How can I live sustainably? How can I give back to society? Our region-specific formats primarily reflect on questions like these.”

Meuer said it is particularly important for the editorial team to showcase the innovative power and wealth of ideas that are generated in the lower castes of Indian society.