BBC 24 Hour News Ready To Compete With CNN And Fox

Move over CNN and Fox News because you may soon have a competitor who has a somewhat different point of view:

The BBC’s global news channel, BBC World, has launched in the US, aiming to capture audiences hungry for international news.

The channel, which already broadcasts to 270 million homes worldwide, can now be seen by cable viewers in New York.

The BBC says it hopes to strike deals with cable and satellite providers elsewhere in the US soon.

A new breakfast programme aimed at American audiences will be launched in July, presented by George Alagiah.

“What we’re not setting out to do is carve a niche that reflects America back to the Americans,” said Alagiah.

“What we’re trying to do is reflect the world back to Americans.”

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

To be sure, the BBC has come in for its share of criticism over the past few years. However, to many Americans who’ve lived abroad it has been something of a lifeline and a bit of an eye-opener. It’s only when you live outside of the United States and listen to the BBC that you realize how paltry most U.S. news coverage of foreign affairs is — but that longtime distinction has diminished in recent years with news outlets such as CNN International (which will be the prime competition for BBC‘s 24-hour operation).

So when, as this BBC report notes, the idea is to “reflect the world back to Americans” it would fit in with one of the general benefits of BBC coverage: it makes you aware of many important stories that are either overlooked or perhaps ignored by many American news media, which are increasingly influenced by the U.S. mega-second news cycles where most news outlets (including weblogs) immediately divert the bulk of their attention and resources to covering the prevailing hot news story.

And that’ll be the selling point:

BBC World was launched in 1995, and is funded by advertising and subscription.

As well as news bulletins, it broadcasts the interview programme Hardtalk, motoring show Top Gear and film guide Talking Movies, among 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,” says the station’s editor, Richard Porter.

“For cable operators to want to find a space for another news network has been quite difficult.”

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

“We’re offering something nobody else is.”

Could the BBC, if it signs up enough other outlets, provide even modest competition for the two big U.S. cable news networks in the United States? It seems unlikely. With the exception of Benny Hill, the Beatles and a few other British imports over the years, Americans have been slow to embrace British imports on a mass scale.

On the other hand, look at the huge influence of Fox News and CNN News abroad. So it could happen. But even if it doesn’t, BBC could offer Americans another healthy news choice entree on their information menus.