BBC News Channel announces new commitment to international news

The BBC News Channel today announced a new international programme at 9pm as part of an ongoing commitment to providing its viewers with the best global news reporting. From 1 June 2015, the BBC News Channel will bring UK audiences the flagship interactive programme Outside Source on weeknights from Monday to Thursday. Since first launching on BBC World News in 2014, Outside Source has been heralded as representing a completely new style of deconstructed news for the digital age. Using state-of-the-art touch-screen technology, presenter Ros Atkins can access a plethora of visual, aural and social media sources to bring the latest stories of the day to life. The new, hour-long programme shown in the UK and around the world will feature Ros in the heart of the BBC’s multimedia newsroom from where he can share the latest reports as they are filed by the BBC’s vast global network of correspondents out in the field. At the same time, he can monitor instant reactions on social media and show interactive maps, graphics, satellite images, photos and live feeds of breaking or developing news stories, all in real time at the swipe of the screen. From Friday to Sunday, the 9pm slot on the BBC News Channel will host the latest international news and in-depth global analysis with World News Today. Already a well-established BBC brand around the world, the programme will also bring sport and business news via the BBC’s network of multimedia, multilingual reporters. James Harding, BBC Director of News and Current Affairs, says: “Outside Source has shown real ingenuity and flair in its story-telling on BBC World News and I am delighted it is going to reach many more viewers both in the UK and around the world.” Jon Zilkha, Controller of 24/7 and Digital News, says: “We strive to provide our audiences both in the UK and around the world with high-quality coverage of global issues, and ensure a breadth of perspective on international affairs. This special international commitment on the BBC News Channel will allow the unparalleled experience and expertise of our BBC World News reporters to reach a domestic audience. “In the last year, Outside Source has formed a strong connection with global viewers and an innovative mix of social media and graphics content have brought a striking immediacy to coverage of breaking stories like the attacks on the Canadian parliament, as well as to major crises such as the Ebola outbreak and the conflict in Ukraine.”