October 01, 2008

BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA CELEBRATES A YEAR OF DELIVERING IN-DEPTH INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND A NEW VOICE

 BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA CELEBRATES A  YEAR OF DELIVERING IN-DEPTH INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND A NEW VOICE IN U.S. POLITICAL COVERAGE ON BBC AMERICA

BBC World News America marks its first anniversary following an inaugural year in which the program won a prestigious Peabody Award, signed veteran newsman Ted Koppel as Contributing Analyst and had correspondents reporting first-hand from the scene of numerous international breaking news stories, from the invasion of Georgia to the current economic crisis hitting markets across the globe. 

The signature, nightly, hour-long broadcast, from Washington D.C., benefits from the BBC’s global newsgathering resource of 2000 journalists and 70 international newsgathering bureaus.  Anchored by veteran foreign correspondent Matt Frei, with Katty Kay as Washington correspondent, it airs weeknights 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. ET on BBC AMERICA and BBC World News.

Garth Ancier, President BBC Worldwide America, commented: “BBC World News America has established itself as the newscast with the strongest international coverage on the dial and a genuinely different perspective on domestic news and politics. The BBC is an unrivalled newsgathering organization and I’m really proud that we’ve been able to add a new voice to the conversation in the U.S.”

Marking its first anniversary, BBC World News America, will be broadcast from a new state-of-the-art set starting today. It will feature a new graphic design across seven plasma screens representing diverse landscapes of the United States from vast mountain ranges to downtown city skylines.  Graphics will help illustrate stories on an eighth plasma screen which will also be used to interview guests.

Executive Producer, Rome Hartman, said:   “We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished in our first year, but we’re just getting started. The global financial crisis of recent weeks has particularly demonstrated how our coverage can be powerful and distinctive, with incisive reports and perspective from our correspondents on Wall Street and in Washington, but also from BBC bureaus and reporters all around the world. If our goal is to ‘connect the dots’, this crisis has demonstrated just how well the BBC can accomplish that.”

In addition, BBC World News and Southern California public television station KCET have announced a distribution partnership, which is on track to deliver a bigger audience to a revamped half-hour daily BBC World News newcast with clearances in all top 30 markets and 46 of the top 50. The program, anchored in London by Mike Embley, with daily contributions from Philippa Thomas in Washington D.C., has been specially created for the PBS audience and will complement the timeslots occupied by BBC World News America.

Ancier explained: “This is the second part of our two pronged strategy to best serve the U.S. audience with complementary newscasts.  Thanks to our new partnership with KCET, BBC World News is on track to reach a bigger PBS audience, while BBC AMERICA is the primary destination for BBC World News America at 7 and 10 p.m. Viewers now have more opportunity to enjoy more of the BBC’s world renowned journalism than ever before.”

BBC AMERICA brings audiences a new generation of award-winning television featuring news with a uniquely global perspective, provocative dramas, razor-sharp comedies and life-changing makeovers.  BBC AMERICA pushes the boundaries to deliver high quality, highly addictive and eminently watchable programming to viewers who demand more.  BBC AMERICA is distributed by Discovery Networks.  It is available on digital cable and satellite TV in more than 60 million homes.  For up-to-the-minute information on BBC AMERICA, forthcoming U.S. premieres, art work and news from the channel, log on to www.press.bbcamerica.com.

BBC World News, the BBC's commercially funded international 24-hour news and information channel, is owned and operated by BBC World News Ltd, a member of the BBC’s commercial group of companies.  BBC World News attracts 78 million viewers a week, is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, and reaches 283 million households and more than 1.6 million hotel rooms.  The channel's content is also available on 57 cruise ships, 42 airlines, 36 mobile phone networks and a number of major online platforms including bbc.com/news.  For further information on how to receive BBC World News, download schedules or find out more about the channel, visit bbcworldnews.com

For KCET:

Cathy Williams, KCET
323 953 5243; cwilliams@kcet.org

Rachel McCallister, mPRm Public Relations
323 933 3399; rmccallister@mprm.com