BBC America

BBC America is the BBC's owned-and-operated cable television network in the United States, which was launched on March 29, 1998.

From the outset, BBC America has cherrypicked the highlights from the domestic BBC television networks, including comedy, drama, and lifestyle programming. There are also at least four half-hour world news bulletins included in each 24 hour period.

BBC America is distributed in association with Discovery Networks, the parent company of the Discovery Channel, who also handles the affiliate and advertising sales. The channel, unlike the BBC's domestic networks which are supported through television licence fees, is wholly advertising-supported. However, all news programs run commercial-free, and the comedy programs run in specially-formatted blocks that allow them to run unedited.

Note that news reports now have commercial breaks at predetermined points [ie the news reader does stop one story - unlike the other programmes where the ad breaks are slotted in at regular times, regardless of what's happening].

BBC America caused some dismay to some viewers when it dropped the soap opera EastEnders in October 2003, but it argued that the show was one of the channel's least popular, although EastEnders, along with other BBC programming, also appears on PBS stations.