BBC World News Officially Launches In NY

The 24-hour BBC World News channel officially launched in the U.S. today. The AP says the channel has “barely a toe dipped into the United States — only two million subscribers to Cablevision in the New York City area on opening day. The network is working to strike agreements with other cable and satellite operators.”

Also today, the BBC launched an ad campaign “with a budget estimated at close to $1 million” to promote the network’s arrival, the New York Times reports.

“In trying to introduce a 24-hour news network to American viewers,” the BBC is up against some pretty powerful news brands. Jez Frampton of Interbrand says “it is hard to break habits” when it comes to watching news. But “the BBC as a brand seems to be well respected in the U.S.” More…