BBC World News has fought a long and so far indecisive battle to prove the BBC can make a profit from current affairs
BBC World News, the international channel run from London with around 250 staff, revamps itself today by giving more focus to its big-name presenters, George Alagiah, Nik Gowing and Zeinab Badawi, who will host more heavily branded news hours from less utilitarian studios.
It is all part of the channel's long and so far indecisive battle, stretching back two decades, to prove that the BBC can make profits – or at least break even – from a mainly news and current affairs channel providing a global perspective.
The channel, whose closest rival is CNN, is now available in around 300m homes globally, 1.2m more than a year ago, and secures income from a mix of subscription and advertising from multinationals, including Shell, Intercontinental Hotels and Rolex.
Its director Sian Kevill, a former editor of Newsnight, says it will make a modest loss again in 2009/2010 after losing £3m last year, on income down a little from last year's £64.5m.
Editorially, the schedule is being shaken up to make a clearer differentiation between weekdays – when peak-time news will be given a clear priority – and weekends, when audiences prefer more general BBC factual and current affairs programming, with news on the hour.
The repackaging is based on audience research, and the tastes of the channel's relatively sophisticated English-speaking audience, whose average age is 37.
They want personalities, warmth and engagement – so, for example, Nik Gowing will be presenting his segment, The Hub, standing up. Presenters are expected to engage more, on Facebook and Twitter.
Kevill says: 'I do feel World News has come of age, it is pretty much financially stable, editorially it has come into its own.'
But it has a chequered past. After Margaret Thatcher refused to fund a television version of the World Service in 1990, the BBC went ahead with a mixed news and repeats channel. But the repeats gradually moved off as BBC Worldwide launched themed commercial channels.
BBC World News is now hived off into the BBC's Global News division, alongside BBC Monitoring, funded by the Cabinet Office, and BBC World Service, supported by grant from the Foreign Office. Its ongoing losses are met through a loan from BBC Commercial Holdings.
The revamp suggests it is moving ever closer to BBC World Service's agenda, the original concept, and may move some of its newsgathering from London, closer to audiences.
BBC World News is on 35 mobile phone platforms, 46 airlines and 81 ships, as well as hotels.
But its business plan does require it to staunch the losses before too long.
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