BBC soft relaunched its new single unified news network, the BBC News Channel, on Monday.
BBC News Channel combines two news outlets: BBC News, a U.K.-focused news channel, and BBC World News, which catered to a global audience.
According to the BBC, BBC News Channel will operate as a single broadcast but with two different feeds – one catering to U.K. viewers and one catering to its international viewers.
Certain programming hours will be broadcast on both feeds, with the news network pointing out that developing and breaking U.K. news will solely remain on the U.K. feed and will receive the appropriate amount of coverage, allaying fears that the network was prioritizing international news over domestic.
BBC says the rollout of programming on BBC News Channel will be done gradually over the next few months, adding, “We want to keep the best of what we do at the moment while introducing better ways of reporting what matters.”
Broadcasts will originate out of London during U.K. daytime hours, followed by Singapore and Washington D.C.
New presenters coming onboard for the relaunch include Matthew Amroliwala, Christian Fraser, Yalda Hakim, Lucy Hockings, and Maryam Moshiri in the U.K. and Sumi Somaskanda in the U.S.
The move to a unified news channel, which is being run by former NBC News chief Deborah Turness, comes as the BBC is undergoing a major transformation that has seen job cuts on-air and off air, the shutting down of certain international services, and a migration to digital platforms as the broadcasting corporation looks to save over $200 million annually.
Watch highlights of the launch day of the BBC News Channel below.
Day #1, the soft-launch of the merged #BBCNewsChannel & World.
✅️ Love the authoritative, direct “Live from London, this is BBC News”
✅️ Hopefully, the red box titles’ final airing – nice updated screen graphics & countdown
✅️ First “domestic” break-away w/ @LVaughanJones pic.twitter.com/UlXMCXfSct— Nathan Chard (@NathanEChard) April 3, 2023