BBC News API

BBC News and BBC Sport headlines, full articles and BBC search results as JSON.

The API.SH BBC News API returns BBC content as JSON. List the latest stories of a BBC News or BBC Sport section with keyword and time filters, open an article for its full body, authors, topic tags and images, and run the BBC's own search across news, sport, video and audio programmes.

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3 endpoints
from $1 / 1,000 calls
1,000 free credits / month
failed calls free

Search the BBC

GET https://api.api.sh/bbc/v1/search

{ "success": true }

1 credit · $1 per 1,000 calls

What you can build with the BBC News API

News monitoring and alerts

Poll a section's newest stories with a keyword filter and a since time, and alert on anything new that matches.

/headlines

Full-text archives and NLP

Store each article's body as paragraphs and headings with its section, tags and publish times for text analysis.

/article

Topic and media research

Search the BBC for a person, company or topic and collect matching articles, videos and programmes with their topics.

/search

News apps and widgets

Show BBC headlines with summaries and images by section in a dashboard, newsletter or app.

/headlines /article

AI agents and RAG

Give an agent BBC search and article reading so it can answer with current reporting and cite the source link.

/search /article

BBC News data you get

Field names from real responses. Numbers come parsed, URLs absolute, dates in ISO 8601.

BBC News API endpoints and prices

Every BBC News endpoint costs 1 credit per call: credits are $1 per 1,000 on a monthly plan, $2 pay-as-you-go. Pricing

Search and discovery1

Search the BBC

/bbc/v1/search

$1 · $2 PAYG

1 credit

More data2

BBC article /bbc/v1/article	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
BBC headlines by section /bbc/v1/headlines	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit

Call the BBC News API

Search the BBC: GET https://api.api.sh/bbc/v1/search

curl "https://api.api.sh/bbc/v1/search?q=climate" \
  -H "x-api-key: $APISH_KEY"

import os, requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.api.sh/bbc/v1/search",
    params={"q": "climate"},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["APISH_KEY"]},
    timeout=120,
)
res.raise_for_status()
data = res.json()

const url = new URL("https://api.api.sh/bbc/v1/search");
url.searchParams.set("q", "climate");

const res = await fetch(url, { headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.APISH_KEY } });
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);
const data = await res.json();

# Google Sheets (API.SH add-on)
=APISH("/bbc/v1/search", "q", "climate")

# Zapier, Make, n8n (verified node): pick the API.SH app,
# choose "BBC News" and "Search the BBC".

# AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor): add the
# API.SH MCP server https://api.sh/mcp

Create a free accountConfirm your email and get 1,000 free credits every month. No card needed.
Create an API keyOne key works for all 482 platforms.
Send the requestJSON back in one call. Add output=csv or output=ndjson for files.

Why API.SH for BBC News data

Public data only: no BBC News login, cookies or account needed
One key and one response shape for BBC News and 481 other platforms
Built and maintained by API.SH, not third-party publishers
Pay per call; errors on our side cost nothing
Live status for every endpoint

API.SH vs the official BBC News API

The BBC does not offer a public API for fetching BBC News articles; its News Hub API key is only for partner organizations, and the RSS feeds carry headlines only. API.SH returns public BBC headlines, full articles and search results as JSON.

Instead of maintaining a BBC News scraper or using a general news API that only gives snippets, API.SH gives you full BBC article text with one key and a fixed price per call.

BBC News API questions

What BBC News data can I get?+

The latest stories of a BBC News or BBC Sport section (/bbc/v1/headlines), one full article with body, authors, tags and images (/bbc/v1/article) and the BBC's own search across news, sport, video and audio (/bbc/v1/search).

How much does the BBC News API cost?+

Every BBC News endpoint costs 1 credit per call. On a monthly plan 1,000 credits cost $1 (Starter is $50/month for 50,000 credits). Pay-as-you-go is $2 per 1,000 credits, with top-ups from $15 that never expire.

Is there a free trial?+

Yes. Every account gets 1,000 free credits every month. That is 1,000 calls to /bbc/v1/article at 1 credit each.

Is there an official BBC News API?+

Not for the public. The BBC's News Hub API is limited to partner organizations, and its RSS feeds give headlines and summaries only. API.SH returns full public articles as JSON.

Do I need a BBC account or API key?+

No. You only need your API.SH key. No endpoint uses a BBC login or licence.

Can I use the BBC News API from Python?+

Yes. Use the API.SH Python SDK or any HTTP client: call /bbc/v1/headlines with a section and parse the JSON. There is no HTML parsing to write.

Is scraping BBC News legal?+

API.SH reads public pages only. BBC articles are copyrighted, so use the data for research, monitoring and analysis, follow the BBC's terms and your local law, and do not republish full articles.

How do I get started?+

1. Sign up at api.sh. 2. Copy your API key. 3. Call /bbc/v1/headlines with a section, then /bbc/v1/article with a story url. Request examples and every parameter are in the docs at https://api.sh/docs. You can also use the JS or Python SDK, Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, n8n or the MCP server at https://api.sh/mcp.

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