30-01-2023, 03:24 PM
Reading the threads about the merging of BBC News and BBC World News and people's thoughts on CNN International's prioritisation of US news got me wondering if the truly international news channel is just not something there is demand for anymore?
Back in the 2000s, broadband internet access was limited and streaming video a bit of a rarity. If you were abroad and wanted to keep up with what was going on at home, you would have probably headed to an internet café or (maybe) used a laptop in a hotel room on fairly expensive ethernet. This meant that international English language news channels were the best option for keeping up with what was going on at home. Satellite distribution was also still fairly expensive, making it hard to offer 'TV from home' even if people wanted to.
Nowadays, wherever I travel I can watch Sky News on my iPad and (often) Chromecast it to a TV in the room. There is also a wide range of channels I can choose from if I want a German, French, Singaporean or whatever spin on what's going on. Given a choice between BBC World News and Sky, I'd probably choose Sky because it covers stuff I'm more likely to be interested in.
I realise international travellers weren't the only people these channels were aimed at but they must've been a fairly big part, especially in terms of advertising money must have been those people.
It's sad for us as pres fans but is the international news channel simply something that's been out-evolved?
Back in the 2000s, broadband internet access was limited and streaming video a bit of a rarity. If you were abroad and wanted to keep up with what was going on at home, you would have probably headed to an internet café or (maybe) used a laptop in a hotel room on fairly expensive ethernet. This meant that international English language news channels were the best option for keeping up with what was going on at home. Satellite distribution was also still fairly expensive, making it hard to offer 'TV from home' even if people wanted to.
Nowadays, wherever I travel I can watch Sky News on my iPad and (often) Chromecast it to a TV in the room. There is also a wide range of channels I can choose from if I want a German, French, Singaporean or whatever spin on what's going on. Given a choice between BBC World News and Sky, I'd probably choose Sky because it covers stuff I'm more likely to be interested in.
I realise international travellers weren't the only people these channels were aimed at but they must've been a fairly big part, especially in terms of advertising money must have been those people.
It's sad for us as pres fans but is the international news channel simply something that's been out-evolved?