| BBC America is the BBC Worldwide 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.
Today, the critically-acclaimed highlights of the BBC networks air in primetime slots, while the daytime is given to repeats of
home-improvement shows such as Changing
Rooms.
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, the comedy programs run in specially-formatted
blocks that allow them to run unedited (this has begun to change).
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. It now airs reruns of The Office, Keeping Up Appearances, Coupling,
Monty Python's Flying Circus,
My Hero and Blackadder. It also regularly purchases the US broadcast rights to non-BBC contemporary British programmes,
such as Father Ted, The Avengers, and The
Saint. The Canadian comedy Trailer Park Boys airs on BBC America as well.
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