BBC World
BBC World is the
BBC's 24-hour international, news and information television channel, launched on January
1995. Programming includes
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.The channel is transmitted by the BBC from
BBC Television Centre in
White City, west
London due to the presence of the BBC newsroom at the centre. All other channels within the
United Kingdom with the exception of
BBC News 24 are transmitted by
Red Bee Media from the nearby network centre.
Although the BBC World News studio produces output in
16:9 EDTV in line with the rest of BBC News, the channel is transmitted in
4:3. The News output is converted into a
14:9 frame for both digital and analogue broadcasting, resulting in black bands at the top and bottom of the screen.
BBC World was formerly known as
BBC World Service Television, although unlike
BBC World Service radio it was (and is) commercially funded, as the British government refused to extend the
Foreign Office grant-in-aid.
The station was established in 1995 when BBC World Service Television was split up into two stations
BBC Prime - an entertainment channel (encrypted and requiring subscription) and BBC World (free to air).
Throughout the past eleven years, the service has gone through several branding changes. From 1995 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.
The largest relaunch for BBC News came in 1999 with all output, both in the UK and for BBC World globally having a uniform loog made up of red and cream. Music based on a style desrcibed as 'drums and beeps' was introduced, composed by
David Lowe, a step away from traditional orchaestral versions used by 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.
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The current BBC World News ident |
BBC World is most commonly watched as a subscription channel. In most of the world, it is carried on nearly all satellite and cable platforms.
It is also available globally online through the website of
Dong-a Ilbo, a Korean newspaper
[Online boradcast of BBC World - Dong-a Ilbo] and
RealPlayer Plus. In
Bahrain it is additionally available as a subscription
mobile phone service, having also been available as a terrestrial channel.
The channel is also available
free-to-air in
Berlin via
digital terrestrial television, and in many parts of the world via satellite. A daily version of its news bulletins are also rebroadcast on many FTA terrestrial channels, especially in the
United States where bulletins are broadcast on PBS affiliates and
BBC America, in
New Zealand, where it is carried overnight on
TV One, and in
Trinidad and Tobago where it is carried overnight on
TV6In Europe, analogue satellite broadcasting via
Hot Bird 6 ceased on 18th 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 TV. 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
1996. It is also available on
Astro in
Malaysia.
BBC World has been available in
Africa on
DStv since late
1995, and its bulletins have also been rebroadcast on
SABC's terrestrial channels in
South Africa. In
1996, it became available in
Latin America and the
Caribbean.
In
Canada, the channel is available on Bell ExpressVu and StarChoice satellite services. Most of the US can receive both signals. The Bell ExpressVu signal can be received on
grey market Free-To-Air (FTA) satellite receivers with the proper firmware installed. Nimiq 1, one of Bell ExpressVu's satellites, is located at 91 West longitude and can be received with at least an 18" (46cm) dish throughout much of the US. On Nimiq 1, BBC World can be found at frequency 12516Mhz, right-hand circular polarization, SR 20000, FEC 5/6, video PID 6690, audio PID 6691. Anik F1R carries BBC World for StarChoice, and is located at 107.3 West. Reception in all but marginal areas can be obtained with an 18 inch dish with StarChoice Digicipher II receiving equipment. BBC World can be found at frequency 11898Mhz, vertical polarization, SR 19510, FEC 3/4 {audio pid and video pid presently uknown).
Since its inception in 1995, the BBC sought carriage for the channel on US cable and satellite systems. Due to Americans' perceived lack of interest in international news, it took 11 years for a US distribution deal to be signed, a deal with
Discovery Communications that was announced on 25 January 2006. As of May 2006, only
Cablevision in the New York City metropolitan area has agreed to retransmit the channel on the iO cable service, and is broadcast on channel 104 for digital subscribers.
It is not officially available in the
United Kingdom, on the grounds that it carries
advertising, although it can be easily received due to its free-to-air status on many European satellites. However, between 0100 and 0500
UTC each day, twenty-five minute news bulletins from the top of each hour on the channel are
simulcast on
BBC News 24; when they are simply identified as "BBC News" with no reference to any channel (during this time, the bulletins are produced by BBC News 24, and presented from their studio, with a static BBC World logo overlaid over the News 24 identity). This simulcast continues with a full hour-long simulcast branded as "
The World Today from BBC News", which carries a further twenty-five minute news bulletin, followed by an edition of World Business Report (which includes a UK business insert when international viewers break away for a short commercial break half way through). On weekdays BBC World also produces a 30 minute analytical news programme called
The World which can be seen in the UK on
BBC Four. A special unique edition of BBC World News used to be shown six times a week at 0930 on
BBC News 24 in the UK with a more international news agenda, but this has been discontinued as part of other changes to the channel's schedule.
BBC World produces much of its own programming.
Programmes include:
HARDtalk - face-to-face interviews
World Business Report - business news
Asia Today - Asia-specific news
Click - technology
Fast Track - travel
Talking Movies - films (mainly from
Hollywood)
This Week - analysis of news from the past week
In addition, a special half hour version of the popular
BBC Two programme
Top Gear airs on weekends, and other BBC documentaries such as
Holidays in the Danger Zone air from time to time.
In
India, many programmes tailor-made for a local audience are shown , including
Question Time India, quiz show
University Challenge India,
India Business Report,
IT India Tomorrow,
Face to Face and motor show
Wheels.
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Andy Bichlbaum, a member of The Yes Men, appears on BBC World to take full responsibility for the Bhopal disaster |
The BBC has a
[Reputation of the BBC - tpr.org] reputation amongst many for independent and accurate reporting of news and current affairs. However, being one of the newest of the BBC's media entities, BBC World is funded by commercial sponsors which has raised questions about its ability to report impartially.
Though generally considered quite accurate, BBC World has occasionally made mistakes, as in the incident where on the twentieth anniversary of the
Bhopal disaster,
the 3rd of December 2004, BBC World was duped into broadcasting an interview with a hoaxer (later revealed to have been
Andy Bichlbaum, a member of
The Yes Men) claiming to be a representative of
Dow Chemical offering a
US$12bn settlement to the 120,000 surviving victims of the
Bhopal disaster[BBC Press Office release regarding the hoax - BBC Press Office]. Upon discovery of the hoax, the BBC's Press Office immediately put out a statement regarding what had happened and the story was dropped from subsequent BBC World News bulletins and those on the 24 hour UK news channel
BBC News 24 [Bhopal blunder hurts BBC - The Age]Nonetheless, BBC World provides a further and different voice to the world and another point of reference in a diverse media market.
Censorships
BBC News has been banned in several countries primarily for unbiased reporting which has been unfavourable to the ruling government. Most notable examples have been in
Uzbekistan[Uzbeks banish BBC after massacre reports - Monica Whitlock, BBC News],
China[BBC banned in China - asiamedia.ucla.edu],
Sri Lanka [BBC banned in Sri Lanka - tamilcanadian.com] and
Pakistan[[1] BBC Urdo taken off Pakistan radio] - BBC News].
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Since 2003, Breakfillers have included video inserts of trailers for later programmes. |
"BBC World" is, for the most part, the same channel all over the world — except for the commercials. However, there are some regional programming variations. For example, a number of programmes are made exclusively for regional viewings, such as Indian feeds, and
The Record Europe, which can only be viewed in
Europe. In addition, the
Asia Business Report from
Singapore is only aired in Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. The rest of the world sees the
World Business Report.
On most feeds of BBC World, commercials are inserted by the cable or satellite provider similar to other channels. When a cable or satellite provider does not insert commercials, the "Breakfiller" (see right) shows promotions for upcoming programmes on the channel. During BBC News, a news story that has not been promoted airs during what would be the commercial break. This is the case on the broadband versions of BBC World, and on versions of BBC World aired in the United States. However, there are some global commercials and sponsorships which air throughout the network.
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The countdown was updated in 2005 to become an international version of the BBC News 24 countdown. |
Since its inception, and more so since its extensive association with
BBC News 24, the countdown to the hourly news bulletin has been an attractive feature of the channel. With music composed by
David Lowe, it has changed several times over the decade.
A 'ribbon-around-the-world' countdown was used starting in February 2004, when a large scale rebranding was brought out on both BBC World and BBC News 24. However, the countdowns in the latter featured some stunning visuals of the world and the UK in the background as the countdown proceeded, while the former merely had the usual 'world-spinning' image.
As of
September 5,
2005, the BBC World Countdown was also altered, modelling on BBC News 24 (and using many clips that feature in the News 24 countdown). The countdown features reporters in the field, including extensive number of images from SE Asia, especially India. A week earlier, the channel's well established break-filler also switched to a new music, without a change in its visuals.
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The set used for news on BBC World is based on a similar design to that of BBC News 24. |
Half-hour
BBC World News bulletins are made available to
PBS stations in the
United States through
WLIW in
New York. 80 to 90% of Americans are able to receive them, though broadcast times vary between different localities, with it airing on several PBS stations in markets such as
New York City and
Washington, DC.
On PBS stations,
BBC World News does not appear with commercials (the breaks are replaced with news stories) but omits the
Met Office international weather forecast at the end, replacing it with underwriting announcements. The PBS airings are tape-delayed on some stations.
BBC World News bulletins are also available on
BBC America in the U.S. The network airs three bulletins on weekday mornings (as part of a 3-hour block of BBC World coverage), plus one in the evening. One bulletin airs daily on the weekends (in the morning). As with the PBS bulletins, the
Met Office forecasts are removed, but commercials are included.
The bulletins also appear on
CBC Newsworld in
Canada, and
Access 31 in
Perth,
Australia. Travellers can watch the bulletins on Channel 1 shortly after take-off on
British Airways flights from the
United Kingdom.
There used to be a half hour summary of the BBC World News on
BBC News 24 every weekday and Sunday morning at 0930GMT/BST, but with improvements to BBC News 24 in the UK, this has since been discontinued, but is still available on Sundays. British viewers can still get a flavour of BBC World, however, as the two channels simulcast the first twenty-five minutes of each hour between 0100GMT/BST and 0500GMT/BST every day. A further full hour of programming from 0500GMT/BST - branded as "The World Today from BBC News" is also simulcast until the two channels part company at 0600GMT/BST.
Travellers on the
Heathrow Express rail service from
London Paddington to
London Heathrow Airport are also treated to a specially-recorded BBC World bulletin - introduced with a namecheck of "Welcome to BBC World News onboard the Heathrow Express" - during the fifteen minute journey. This short bulletin is updated twice a day, and is shown in both classes on LCD televisions throughout the train.
BBC World Presenter Schedules (Weekdays):
0500-0800GMT:
Lucy Hockings0800-1200GMT: Martine Dennis
1200-1300GMT:
George Alagiah.
World News Today: launched on the 3rd of July to appeal to the Breakfast audience in America. It goes out at 7am ET in the US. The programme was originally titled NewsHour in earlier publicity.
1300-1600GMT:
David Eades1600-2000GMT:
Nik Gowing2000-2100GMT:
The World with
Zeinab Badawi2100-0100GMT:
Mike Embley. Katty Kay joins Mike during the 2300 programme from Washington, as this bulletin is also shown on
BBC America.
0100-0500GMT: Overnight Service from BBC News 24. Presenters include
Alastair Yates, Martine Croxall, Deborah Mackenzie and Jake Lynch.
Some other presenters on the channel:Peter Dobbie, David Jessel, Nisha Pillai,
Kirsty Lang, Jonathan Charles, Geeta Guru-Murthy and many more.
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BBC World*
BBC World 1990s to 2003 at The TV Room*
BBC World 2003 to Present at The TV Room
