BBC Launches 30 channels
Media Guardian
Leigh Holmwood and Owen Gibson The Guardian Monday October 29 2007
The BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, is to launch a further 30 channels internationally, as well as a high-definition outlet and an on-demand service in the United States, as part of the next stage of its aggressive expansion plan.
The launches, which will be based on four thematic brands - BBC Entertainment, with shows such as Doctor Who; BBC Knowledge, featuring programmes such as Top Gear; BBC Lifestyle, with What Not To Wear; and children’s outlet CBeebies, featuring the Teletubbies - come on top of 21 channels it already plans to launch before the end of this financial year.
There will also be a mixed-genre high-definition channel, while Worldwide also looks after the distribution of BBC World, the international news channel, which is due to relaunch next year. The 30 new channels will launch over two years from the beginning of April. They will join existing brands such as BBC America and BBC Canada to take Worldwide’s channel count to nearly 70 in more than 160 countries.
