BBC World News to double US reach

The BBC has signed a landmark deal with cable operator Comcast that will see the number of US households that can receive the BBC World News channel more than double.

The channel will be available on Comcast’s Xfinity service, which is available to 15 million homes in Philadephia, Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Portland, Northern California, Michigan and parts of New England. The channel is currently available to fewer than six million households in the New York and Washington areas.

The BBC also holds deals with Verizon and Cablevision to carry BBC World News in the US.