BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel and any news channel in the world. Founded in 1991 as BBC World Service Television outside Europe (the name was changed to BBC World in 1994 and to BBC World News in 2008), it broadcasts for 24 hours with programming including BBC News bulletins, documentaries, lifestyle programmes and interviews. Its main global competitor is CNN International, though it also competes with other major news broadcasting companies. It employs more correspondents and reporters than any other news channel and has more international bureaus. It is the world's most watched news channel, ahead of CNN, and also one of the most watched channels in the world.
The channel is transmitted by Red Bee Media from their network centre at the Broadcast Centre within the BBC Media Village, part of the BBC White City, in White City, west London. All news output originates from studio N8 in the nearby Television Centre. The BBC World News newsroom is part of the BBC's Global News Hub, set up in the summer of 2008. The BBC World News newsroom provides output throughout the day. From 0100–0500 the channel BBC News is also based in this studio.
Previously, the channel was broadcast in 4:3, with the news output fitted into a 14:9 frame for both digital and analogue broadcasting, resulting in black bands at the top and bottom of the screen. On January 13 , 2009 at 09Cl57 GMT, BBC World News switched its broadcast to 16:9 format, initially in the European Region through the Astra 1L satellite, but to other feeds broadcast in the Asian region from 20 January 2009.
BBC World News was named Best International News Channel at the Association for International Broadcasting Awards in November 2006.
In April 2008 the channel changed its name from BBC World to BBC World News as part of a £550,000 rebranding of the BBC's news output, including a new visual identity. The channel later moved into the renovated former studio of the BBC News channel.
History
The channel originally launched as BBC World Service Television, though unlike BBC World Service radio which has always been government funded, the British government refused to extend the Foreign Office grant-in-aid. It was launched on 11 March 1991 , after two weeks of real time pilots, initially as a half-hour bulletin once a day at 1900 GMT. The programme editor was Johan "John" Ramsland. The original picture editing team consisted of Bob Scholes, Peter Hodge & Mike Casey.
In 1994 BBC World Service Television split into two stations: BBC Prime-an encrypted entertainment channel requiring subscription, and the free to air BBC World-concentrating on news and current affairs. Since 1994, the service has gone through several branding changes. From 1994 to 1997, the channel used few graphics to display the name of the channel, with the actual news studio modelled on that used for BBC News in the United Kingdom.
As part of the major relaunch of the image of the BBC including a new logo for the corporation in 1997, the channel received its first main refresh. Various fictional flags with some real were used. The idents were computer generated and developed by the Lambie-Nairn design agency.
Another large relaunch for BBC News came in 1999 with all output, both in the UK and for BBC World globally having a uniform look made up of red and cream. Music based on a style described as 'drums and beeps' was introduced, composed by David Lowe, a departure from the general orchestral versions of other news programmes.
In 2003 and 2004 a second makeover, using the same 'drums and beeps' style music but new graphics took place, although on a much smaller scale to that of 1999. The music was changed slightly while the main colour scheme became black and red, with studios using a frosted glass, white and red design for colourings. Later in 2004 the channel's slogan became Putting News First , replacing Demand a Broader View .
In 2008 the channel was renamed BBC World News. New graphics were produced by the Lambie-Nairn design agency, accompanied with reworked music from David Lowe.
Distribution
BBC World News is most commonly watched as an free-to-air (FTA) Channel. The channel is available FTA in Italy, via digital terrestrial television, and in all parts of Europe and many parts of the world FTA via satellite. (It was also available via terrestrial FTA in Berlin from c. 2000 to March 2007). Although not officially available in the UK it is available to people who point their satellite dishes at Astra 19.2°E, Hot Bird and Thor, the Middle East Feed is also available to UK residents through Badr/Arabsat. In most of the world, it is carried on nearly all satellite and cable platforms.
BBC World News is available online through the website of Dong-a Ilbo , a Korean newspaper, but this stream cannot necessarily be viewed from all countries (inaccessible from the USA as of October 2007).
It is also available online through the subscription service RealPlayer Plus and online live-streaming service Jalipo. In Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates it is additionally available as a subscription mobile phone service, having also been available as a terrestrial channel.
Outside of the United States and the United Kingdom, the channel can be watched for free as a live Internet stream through Livestation. Internet users with IP addresses that appear to be from the United States or the United Kingdom are prevented from streaming the channel, as Livestation does not have rights to provide this service to users in these countries.
A daily version of its news bulletins are also rebroadcast on many FTA terrestrial channels like in New Zealand, where it is carried overnight on TV ONE, and in Trinidad and Tobago where it is carried overnight on TV6.
In Europe, analogue satellite broadcasting via Hot Bird 6 ceased on 18 April 2006 at midday, although its digital free-to-air signal is replicated on Hot Bird 6, Hot Bird 7A, Thor 2 and on Astra 1KR.
It is also available 24/7 in Australia on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television as well as the Telstra NextG phone network. In New Zealand, it is also broadcast via satellite on SKY Network Television and via cable on TelstraClear.
In Asia, it was originally carried on STAR TV, the pan-Asian satellite television service based in Hong Kong, which was later acquired by Rupert Murdoch, but switched to PanAmSat in 1994. It is also available on Astro in Malaysia, originally part of the Astro News channel lineup before being a stand alone channel in 2002. In India it was FTA till 15 June 2006 but is now a pay channel.
BBC World News has been available in Africa on DStv since late 1995, and its bulletins have also been rebroadcast on South African Broadcasting Corporation's (SABC) terrestrial channels in South Africa. In 1996, it became available in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Canada, the channel is available on Bell TV and Shaw Direct satellite services, as well as on most digital cable services. Shaw Cable and Rogers Cable carry the channel as part of their analogue cable packages. The Canadian news channel CBC Newsworld also carries a BBC World newscast from 6 to 6:30 p.m. daily.
BBC World News is not widely available on cable/satellite services in the United States, but a 2006 agreement with Discovery Networks (which is a partner in BBC America) announced it would seek distribution for the channel. American viewers used to be able to watch select BBC World bulletins on BBC America and over 200 PBS stations, but on April 4, 2009, BBC World News was dropped from BBC America. It was also reported in the New York Times in April 2008, that some PBS stations have dropped BBC World News after being told by BBC executives that the BBC had made it "pretty clear that the future of the BBC was not intertwined with public broadcasting." For more distribution information, please refer to the paragraph below—"BBC World in the USA."
Programming
Live News Programmes:
- BBC World News For most of the day the channel produces 26 minute bulletins of international news beginning at the top of each hour. Some editions of its 2300 broadcasts are rebroadcast via PBS stations in the USA. Each day during the overnight hours in the UK (0100-0500 local time), twenty-five minute news bulletins from the top of each hour on the channel are produced by and simulcast on BBC News, when they are simply identified as "BBC News" with no reference to any channel. During these overnight hours, the bulletins are usually presented from the domestic channel's studio (although the 'World' studio is sometimes utilised). At 0500 UKT time an hour of News, Business and sport, which is also transmitted on the main domestic BBC network BBC One and the BBC News Channel.
- World News Today Transmitted at 0200/0300 (season dependent), 1100/1200 (season dependent), 1300, 1600, 1800/1900 (season dependent) and 2100/2200 GMT (season dependent), launched in July 2006, to coincide with the launch of BBC World as an independent channel in the United States, the 1200 GMT edition was launched to appeal to the breakfast audience in the country and is presented by George Alagiah. The 1900 UKT edition is aimed at European audiences and launched on the 29 May 2007 . It is presented by Zeinab Badawi. It replaced the 2100 edition which
BBC - Homepage
Only the BBC brings you World News every half hour. Listen To World Service Live. On Next. 19:05 World Briefing. Listen Again. Newshour: 03/11/2009
BBC NEWS | News Front Page
Get the latest BBC World news: international news, features and analysis from Africa, Americas, South Asia, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.
BBC World Service - News
Feast fit for a Queen. The Queen of England is hosting a meal for some 200 at the Celebration of Faiths and the Environment conference at her residence, Buckingham Palace.
BBC World News Front Page
Marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Matt Frei presents a new series on the city
Schedules
To display BBC World News current programming schedule please select your local area time zone. You can then either select a date of your choice or view the daily ...
newsrss.bbc.co.uk
BBC Partners - BBC World News
There will be a change of receive parameters for Nilesat 101 in the Middle East and North Africa. If you receive the channel directly from this satellite, then you will need to ...
BBC NEWS | News Front Page
Visit BBC News for up-to-the-minute news, breaking news, video, audio and feature stories. BBC News provides trusted World and UK news as well as local and regional perspectives.
newsrss.bbc.co.uk
BBC World News (bbcworld) on Twitter
supported by backstage.bbc.co.uk ... Hey there! bbcworld is using Twitter. Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent ...