Advanced Television

BBC World News “breakthrough year”

May 16, 2012

By Chris Forrester

BBC World News has added another 40 million potential viewing homes this past year, taking its total distribution to more than 330 million.  Recent deals with Comcast in the US, TV4 in Sweden, ERT S.A. in Greece and D life, and a major distribution deal with Disney in Japan, have all added to the service’s distribution.

BBC World News is also expected to receive a further boost when it moves into state-of-the-art new broadcasting studios in London later this year, improving the look and feel of its international news output for audiences, says the BBC.

BBC World News Commercial Director Colin Lawrence called it evidence of both ‘a breakthrough year’ for the channel and ‘our audiences increasing hunger for global news they can trust in very turbulent times’.  Full-time 24/7 distribution of the channel has also risen from 179 million to more than 200 million households, making it one of the biggest international news channels in the world.

Amongst the biggest increases in distribution included:
– The US, where distribution rose by over 100 per cent, largely as a result of a new deal with US cable provider Comcast, who are distributing the channel in Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Northern California, Michigan and elsewhere.
– 15 per cent increase in Europe including France, where distribution rose by 119 per cent and Greece where distribution rose by 549 per cent.
– Former Eastern Bloc countries Georgia (101 per cent), Russia (+19 per cent), Kazakhstan (+43 per cent), and Estonia (+85 per cent).
– Rises in Latin America including Panama (+45 per cent), Ecuador (+25 per cent), Paraguay (+40 per cent), Argentina (+7 per cent) and Chile (+16 per cent).
– Increases in Asia including Indonesia (+35 per cent).

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