ITV

Tag: George Alagiah

  • BBC World debuts in the US market

    BBC World debuts in the US market

    MUMBAI: In a bid to target a wider audience, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has launched BBC World in the US market. Though the news channel started broadcasting at the end of April, it was officially launched on 1 June. The channel can now be seen in New York. The BBC is also looking at striking deals with cable and satellite providers elsewhere in the US soon. 

    The launch coincided with the unveiling of an outdoor advertising campaign in New York to promote the service to viewers.

    In July, BBC World will launch a new breakfast programme presented by George Alagiah. “What we’re not setting out to do is carve a niche that reflects America back to the Americans. What we’re trying to do is reflect the world back to Americans,” Alagiah was quoted as saying in BBC News.

    The show, which will be based in London, will also be carried on the cable channel BBC America.

    BBC World was launched in 1995, and is funded by advertising and subscription. Apart from news bulletins, it also broadcasts the interview programme Hardtalk, motoring show Top Gear and film guide Talking Movies, amongst others.

    Although it can be seen in more than 200 countries, the channel has found it difficult to get a foothold in the US. “The American TV market is the most crowded market in the world. For cable operators to find a space for another news network has been quite difficult,” said the station’s editor Richard Porter.

    Porter also said that the channel’s coverage of global affairs has been their key selling point.

    The launch of BBC World in New York comes just four months after the station signed a distribution deal with Discovery. The channel’s main competitor in the US will be CNN International.

  • George Alagiah joins BBC World to present ‘NewsHour’

    George Alagiah joins BBC World to present ‘NewsHour’

    MUMBAI: George Alagiah, one of the BBC’s well-known news presenters, will join BBC World to present a brand-new programme NewsHour. Beginning in June, the programme will broadcast each weekday during peak times in the key markets around the world, including the US breakfast peak and Asia evening peak.

    Alagiah will present NewsHour at 12 PM (GMT) from Monday to Thursday. He currently co-presents the BBC’s Six O’Clock News in the UK, and will continue in that role in addition to presenting NewsHour, informs an official release.

    BBC Global News Division director Richard Sambrook says, “We are extremely pleased to have a journalist of George’s calibre on board to present our new programme. George has achieved tremendous success in the UK for his objective coverage, in-depth international knowledge, and his sharp interviewing skills. His experience and his ability to uncover the news behind each story will be crucial for the success of NewsHour, which was created to ensure that BBC World delivers continuous and authoritative news programming to its audiences in the US during peak morning hours, and in East Asia in the evening.”

    “As a foreign correspondent for a decade, I saw first-hand how people around the world turned to the BBC for its sheer breadth of coverage and the authority with which it came. Now, more than ever, American audiences are interested how global events can have an impact on their lives and Newshour will bring them the day’s international news stories from an impartial and global perspective.”

    Alagiah joined the BBC in 1989 and worked as a foreign correspondent specialising in Africa and the developing world. In March 2002, he launched BBC Four’s international news programme and began presenting BBC’s Six O’clock News in January 2003.

    He has reported on many issues and events including the famine in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Liberia, Saddam Hussein’s campaign against the Iraqi Kurds and the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York.

    Alagiah has won several awards for his reporting and has interviewed many prominent international figures including Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat and Tariq Aziz of Iraq.

    The introduction of NewsHour is part of the channel’s plan to establish regular NewsHour programmes throughout the day, to ensure BBC World delivers tailored news programming at the breakfast and evening peak-times across key time zones.