Media: BBC plans foreign audience push

By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson and Ben Fenton (Financial Times; 2007-6-17)

LONDON — The BBC is planning a more aggressive push for international audiences and advertising revenue with an overhaul of its overseas television lineup aimed at creating channels that can be "No. 1 or No. 2" in their markets, senior executives said.

Darren Childs, managing director of global channels for BBC Worldwide, the state-funded broadcaster's commercial arm, acknowledged that channels such as BBC America and BBC Prime had suffered from "a lack of focus and a scatter-gun strategy."

A multimillion-pound investment plan will see the BBC Prime general entertainment channel replaced with a series of thematic channels such as BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies, a children's channel, and will include new U.S.-focused news programs for BBC America.

"I think with George W. Bush's approval rating at 29%, having a news broadcast with a neutral, British, BBC approach is well-timed," said Garth Ancier, president of BBC America.

The rest of the story: The Financial Times