MUMBAI: News broadcaster BBC World has signed a long-term distribution deal in America with Discovery. Media reports indicate that Discovery could offer BBC World as a digital network to cable systems in the same markets that carry its Discovery Times Channel. Discovery will handle ad sales for the new network which will be called BBC World News .
Discovery already distributes BBC America, which has been running promos inviting viewers to call their cable or satellite provider and request the addition of BBC World to their channel lineups. No carriage deals have been announced as of now. Reports further state that Discovery will try to gain carriage for the international news network at a time when cable and satellite companies are already struggling for bandwidth. They are also unsure about the level of interest Americans have for what is going on outside their country.