Tapping into what it sees as a need for impartial international news on cable, the BBC said Friday that it would aggressively seek distribution in the United States for BBC World News, its 24-hour news channel.
But that’s in the long term. In the short term, the BBC is cutting back on its flagship newscast based in the United States. “BBC World News America” will be moved off of the BBC America cable channel and will be trimmed to 30 minutes from an hour each weeknight.
The changes were jointly announced Friday by BBC Global News and BBC Worldwide America, two segments of the sprawling British broadcaster.
“BBC World News America,” based in Washington and co-anchored by Matt Frei and Katty Kay, was created in 2007 as the broadcaster sought a bigger audience in the United
States. It is well-regarded by its peers; when it earned a Peabody Award last year, the organization called it “a nightly newscast like none the United States has ever had. It places our actions and concerns
in a global context.”
The newscast, though, wasn’t always an easy fit with the rest of the BBC America channel, which features British hits like “Top Gear” and “Doctor Who.” Under a new president of BBC Worldwide America, Herb Scannell, the channel is emphasizing entertainment, including in the 7 p.m. time slot currently occupied by the newscast.
Mr. Scannell has a plan “for two clearly defined cable channels” in the United States, BBC America and BBC World News, the company said in a news release.
But gaining distribution for BBC World News is most likely to be exceedingly difficult. BBC America is already available in more than 60 million American homes; BBC World News is only available in about six million. Distributors are generally reluctant to add new channels.
Meanwhile, there is another international news channel seeking the same access to United States households: Al Jazeera English, which has been widely praised for its coverage of the protests in the Middle East in recent weeks. Al Jazeera English is currently available in fewer American cable homes than BBC World News.
Starting March 28, “BBC World News America” will be moved to BBC World News, shortened to a half-hour and shifted to 4 p.m. Eastern from its current time, 7 p.m. It will be repeated at 6 p.m.
Many PBS stations across the country already carry BBC newscasts, and under the new arrangement, “BBC World News America” will be available to those stations without any commercials.
The BBC also said it would make new investments in the United States edition of its news Web site, which would involve the hiring of an unknown number of video journalists in its Washington bureau.
Peter Horrocks, the director of BBC Global News, said in a statement Friday: “Making our news accessible to the widest possible audience is at the heart of the BBC and this new approach in the U.S. gives audiences more opportunities to access the BBC’s outstanding journalism across multiple platforms. With a 24/7 news channel, a more widely available flagship newscast, and increased on-demand video created for the web, BBC News will meet current audience needs and adapt as they continue to evolve.”