BBC to merge international news units

The BBC has merged its international news portfolio into a new commercial entity called BBC Global News Ltd. Jim Egan has been appointed as the chief operating officer of the new unit, which will bring the BBC’s commercially-funded TV and digital news operations together for the first time.

It will involve the merging of the bbc.com/news and BBC World News services. “This isn’t simply about running our TV channel and website together. We are entering an age where old definitions of channels and websites are breaking down – this is about the BBC’s commitment to delivering the world’s best quality international journalism, in text and in video, in an integrated way to all the screens our audiences use for their news,” Egan said.

Multimedia journalists from the BBC will work on broadcast and digital output alongside each other in a new newsroom, broadcasting in 27 different languages.