BBC World News America is a British/American current affairs news program produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation's BBC News division, which premiered on 1 October, 2007. Produced out of the BBC's Washington, D.C. bureau, Katty Kay – who originally appeared on the program through her role as a Washington-based correspondent for BBC News – has served as the main presenter since 2011, replacing original co-anchor Matt Frei. The program is broadcast worldwide on BBC World News and, through an agreement with Washington's PBS member station, WETA-TV, is syndicated to PBS member stations and select non-commercial educational independent stations throughout the United States. Until June 2019, Los Angeles-based NCE station KCET handled this distribution. From its debut until 25 March, 2011, the program originally maintained a one-hour format, airing as a simulcast on BBC America in the United States and BBC World internationally, with the first half-hour being shown overnights on the BBC News Channel in the U.K. The program was reduced to a half-hour broadcast on 28 March, 2011, and was removed from BBC America. On 31 October 2016, the program returned to the BBC News Channel after a five-year absence, and currently airs on the channel at 21:30 GMT for one week in November and one week in March between when the clocks change in the UK and the US. From 11 June to 26 July 2018 Monday — Thursday, the program temporarily aired the first half-hour edition for viewers around the world. Then from August 2018, the usual full hour was returned.
Special broadcasts
In some instances, this program has been cut off on its hour broadcast to a few snippets because of a breaking news broadcast. But in the case of the 2008 US Election primaries & caucus, the program has been extended to 3 hours and even up to 6 hours and only being presented by one host. BBC World News America also covered the three presidential and the only vice-presidential debates.
Presenters
Katty Kay is currently the main presenter. Laura Trevelyan also regularly presents the programme.
BBC World News America has won several Peabody Awards. It won one in 2007 for White Horse Village. In 2010, BBC World News America was a recipient of two 69th Annual Peabody Awards. One award was given to the program, calling it a "Unique Broadcast, Unique Perspective", which was described as "A nightly newscast like none the United States has ever had, it places our actions and concerns in a global context." The second award was for the report Where Giving Life is a Death Sentence. The program won another Peabody Award in 2014 "for dedicating the necessary resources and risking their lives to give the world an up-close look at the horrors of the Syrian conflict" in Inside Syria's War.
