BBC World plugs into US cable talks

THE BBC is in talks with several US cable companies to distribute its BBC World news channel and expand its North American reach.

It has talked to leading players such as Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner.

The BBC is working with partner Discovery Networks, partially owned by Cox, to get cable distribution to complement BBC America, which screens a mix of British humour and is one of the fastest-growing cable channels in the country.

'Increasing distribution in the US is certainly a priority for us,' the BBC said.

'In the past week, we have held discussions with companies including Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner, but cannot give any further details due to commercial sensitivities.'

BBC World is commercially funded and reaches 254m homes in more than 200 countries.

Available at least half-an-hour a day on 229 US public television stations, it is enjoying a surge of popularity.

Viewer figures have more than doubled since 9/11, with 930,000 households tuning in each evening, according to Nielsen ratings. In addition, 387 US radio stations carry BBC World Service news.

The BBC says the network's radio audience is 4.7m in the US, with 22% of 'opinion formers' in New York and Washington listening to BBC World Service each week.