Thanks to Cable and Satellite networks, Americans are now able to view more television shows which they can watch 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One particular television program is BBC America.

What is BBC America?

Although BBC has been known as the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC America is an American television network. It is owned and operated by BBC Worldwide Americas, a subsidiary of the BBC in the United Kingdom. BBC America has been reviewed as one of the best television channels that offer a great variety of various television programs sure to capture audience from all walks of life.

BBC America was first launched back in 1998. At that time, it featured a variety of different programs from BBC UK as well as programs being aired by other British television networks.

Overview of BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation was established back in 1922. However, it was only in 1927 when the BBC became a corporation under the grant provided by the Royal Charter in the United Kingdom. When the BBC was established as a corporation, it was classified as a public corporation. This meant that the Board of Directors were not appointed or elected by members of the Board of the BBC. Instead, they were appointed by the King or Queen governing England. This all changed in 2007 when the Board of Directors was replaced with the newly-established BBC Trust. As a result of this move, the BBC is now no longer and under the influence of the English Crown and Parliament. Instead, like all broadcasting corporations all over the world, the BBC now caters primarily to the wants and needs of its target audience.

BBC Worldwide

In 1995, the BBC Worldwide Limited was established as the commercial arm of the BBC. Today, BBC Worldwide Limited is responsible for the conceptualizing the various commercial television shows shown by the British Broadcasting Network. On top of this, BBC Worldwide is also in-charge of the sales and distribution of foreign and local satellite and cable networks. One of which is BBC America.

Distribution and Availability of the Channel

Currently, BBC America is being distributed in the United States as part of an agreement struck between BBC Worldwide and Discovery Networks which is popularly known for the Discovery Channel. Unlike its counterpart in the United Kingdom, BBC America is not receiving funding from the UK License Fee. This is why unlike its British counterpart, BBC America airs various advertisements.

BBC America is currently offered by most cable television provides in the United States as well as through satellite television courtesy of DirecTV and the Dish Network. In many cases, this channel is not included in the standard listing of channels provided by local cable providers. As such, you would need to request this directly from your cable television providers for a corresponding fee.

Kinds of Shows Offered

Currently, BBC America offers a variety of shows of different genres ranging from drama to comedy and informational shows. Some of its most popular programs include Doctor Who, Top Gear and Gavin & Stacey. It also features a BBC America on Demand. This program would allow patrons to view a particular television show over and over again at their convenience. It also features BBC World News America which primarily focuses on current events occurring within the country.

The Office- An Introduction To The Show

This BAFTA award winning show also received a Golden Globe Award and was started way back in 2001. Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais wrote and directed the program which is largely based on office employees of Wernham Hogg which is a fictitious paper company. This successful British comedy aired on BBC 2 but today is broadcast on BBC Prime, BBC Canada and BBC USA. It is aired in over 80 countries worldwide including the Asian continent. The show has grown in popularity after being aired on BBC USA in spite of the humor being largely British in orientation.

The show revolves around a mockumentary style and is set in Slough, England. The regional manager of the office is David Brent and Gareth Keenan is his assistant. Brent offers tries to get support from his employees but this lands him in embarrassing situations. Other key characters include Dawn Tinsley who is played by Lucy Davis and Tim Canterbury played by Martin Freeman. ‘Handbags and Gladrags’ is the theme song and it was written by Mike D’Abo and arranged by the musical genius Big George.

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