International TV News Channels

[Gregg]

It seems my cable system is willing to add just about any of the international English-language news channels that are available to cable operators for free.

I have Time-Warner Cable in Northern New Jersey. In addition to CNN, MSNBC, HLN and Fox News we get:

CCTV-9 from China
RT (Russia Today, also in Spanish)
CNN International (that one isn't free or government-run, but TW carries it anyway)

and recently at Channels 501 and 502 they've added

France 24 (even though it's in English, it's pronounced Frahns Vingt-Quatre)
CCM (from the Chinese Xinhua News Agency)

I wonder if these channels might even be paying T-W for carriage? Who at T-M decided we need TWO English news channels from Beijing?

I'm not complaining. I don't watch these channels frequently but I tune in from time to time. I assume they're all paid for by their governments as a propaganda device. It's interesting that at night, not one of the four American news networks, CNN, MSNBC, HLN or Fox, actually does news. It's all opinion and talk shows. Yet these international networks usually maintain their formats around the clock, except for CNN Int., which does run some talk shows.

By the way, my dad who has Cablevision, gets two other international news channels I don't get: BBC World News and Euro News. My cable system runs BBC America instead of BBC World News. BBC-A carries some news on weekday mornings but not during the rest of the day or weekends. I wonder how Cablevision decided to carry these two other news channels? Other than Al Jazeera English, are there any other English-language news channels that are available for worldwide distribution?

I also wonder when U.S. cable systems might start carrying Al Jazeera English? Or does Al Jazeera Arabic have such a tarnished reputation that we won't likely see the English language version anytime soon? When I've watched AJE on line, I always thought they were fair. They might have a third-world slant but I don't think they're anti-American or anti-West.



Gregg
[email protected]

 

[JeeperOne]

Here in Denver, Comcast just added BBC World News to the lineup which compliments their carriage of WorldView (Which France 24 is a part of) via a KBDI subchannel that's listed in the same part of the lineup as Antenna TV, Cool TV, ThisTV, etc

I wonder if Sky News will ever be added next (Republicans are always crying "Liberal" bias in the media. Adding Sky News would silence that)

Cheers & 73

 

[BRNout]

I'd like to see BBC World News on my cable lineup too!

Doubt we'll see Sky News anytime soon, Murdoch has pretty much limited its carriage to the Eastern Hemisphere while Fox News is seen over here. Heck, you can't even stream it live from the US. Hope I am wrong on that, I do think that they have the best coverage in Europe (the BBC is rather stogy and slow). Not much of a bias right or left on Sky News though (Pat).

 

[Bluenoser]

In my neck of the woods, EastLink carries BBC World News and recently added CNN Intl and Al Jazeera English. Bell TV, which I subscribe to, carries CNN Intl and Al Jazeera English as add-ons, RT on the basic service, and also carries DW-TV (Germany), SKY TG24 (Italian with some Canadian content), NDTV 24X7 (India), and international feeds of several other networks.

 

[kenglish]

BBC is being added to a lot of systems, due to the BBC loss of their shortwave service, and the need to justify their continued existence via "new technologies". They are also doing a lot more with internet and satellite.

China is on a huge kick to improve their international image, going so far as to buy time (in some cases, even full-time, 24/7) on many US radio stations.

You may also want to check out "MHz WorldView" on many PBS TV affiliates' sub-channels, and "World Radio Network" on many NPR and non-comm radio stations' HD2 channels.

 

[recto101]

Directv has CCTV 9 China

ABS-CBN News Channel Philippines.

 

[azumanga]

I wonder if Sky News will ever be added next (Republicans are always crying "Liberal" bias in the media. Adding Sky News would silence that)

Doubt we'll see Sky News anytime soon, Murdoch has pretty much limited its carriage to the Eastern Hemisphere while Fox News is seen over here. Heck, you can't even stream it live from the US. Hope I am wrong on that, I do think that they have the best coverage in Europe (the BBC is rather stogy and slow). Not much of a bias right or left on Sky News though (Pat).

Maybe Sky's lack of bias is the reason why it's not seen in the US, with Murdoch insisting that Fox News does not compete with Sky in the US.

That being said, Fox News is available on cable and satellite in Europe and Australia, places where Sky News is also available.

 

[PhillyWatch]

Here in Philadelphia, independent non-comm WYBE carries NHK World from Japan on 35-2, France 24 on 35-3, and RT America on 35-4. All are carried by Comcast as well. While they're all government-funded, they still provide an alternative to the American cable news networks, so you'll see (more) coverage of global news stories. With events like the Japan quake/tsunami and the recent Kim Jong Il death, I think the global perspective you're able to gain in checking out these channels is great.

WYBE http://www.mindtv.org/
RT http://rt.com/usa/
NHK World http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html
France 24 http://www.france24.com/en/

 

[JeeperOne]

Here in Philadelphia, independent non-comm WYBE carries NHK World from Japan on 35-2, France 24 on 35-3, and RT America on 35-4. All are carried by Comcast as well. While they're all government-funded, they still provide an alternative to the American cable news networks, so you'll see (more) coverage of global news stories. With events like the Japan quake/tsunami and the recent Kim Jong Il death, I think the global perspective you're able to gain in checking out these channels is great.

Mhz WorldView has those channels & more

As for the coverage of Kim Jung IL's death, CNN & BBC World were all over it while Fox News just kept looping its coverage. Neither MSNBC or WorldView had any coverage at all. CCTV seemed to have coverage but the only way you can CCTV 9 is via the International News package (Which costs more - F**K YOU CHINESE GOVERNMENT !!! )

Cheers & 73

 

[DToTheJ]

Had Kim Jong-Il died during the week, MSNBC might have been all over it. That being said, they probably thought they'd get more ratings with "Lockup" reruns.

 

[w9wi]

This thread mentions eight countries' news channels being carried on U.S. cable/satellite services.

I note an obvious absence -- the two countries closest to the U.S. aren't represented! Sure, the CBC is on a few cable systems along the border. (and I wouldn't be surprised if Mexican stations are on U.S. cable systems along the southern border -- but only in Spanish) If you're a few hundred miles inland though, your only access to local opinion in our two closest neighbors is online. With Mexico being entwined in one of the hottest issues in U.S. politics today -- and Canada being central to another current political hot potato -- it's a shame we're more exposed to Tokyo's opinion than to Ottawa's or Mexico City's.

 

[Jazz_Kat]

Here in Philadelphia, independent non-comm WYBE carries NHK World from Japan on 35-2, France 24 on 35-3, and RT America on 35-4. All are carried by Comcast as well. While they're all government-funded, they still provide an alternative to the American cable news networks, so you'll see (more) coverage of global news stories. With events like the Japan quake/tsunami and the recent Kim Jong Il death, I think the global perspective you're able to gain in checking out these channels is great.

WYBE http://www.mindtv.org/
RT http://rt.com/usa/
NHK World http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html
France 24 http://www.france24.com/en/

We get RT on Dish Network as well. It's on channel 280.

 

[mjlarochelle]

In my neck of the woods, EastLink carries BBC World News and recently added CNN Intl and Al Jazeera English. Bell TV, which I subscribe to, carries CNN Intl and Al Jazeera English as add-ons, RT on the basic service, and also carries DW-TV (Germany), SKY TG24 (Italian with some Canadian content), NDTV 24X7 (India), and international feeds of several other networks.

Rogers in Ontario carries all those channels as well. For an extra fee they also offer XEW-TV and Azteca 7 from Mexico; although not news channels they both have national news programs.

Actually, Rogers offers a very large slate of international channels carrying news, something I know other cable providers do not.

 

[BRNout]

This thread mentions eight countries' news channels being carried on U.S. cable/satellite services.

I note an obvious absence -- the two countries closest to the U.S. aren't represented! Sure, the CBC is on a few cable systems along the border. (and I wouldn't be surprised if Mexican stations are on U.S. cable systems along the southern border -- but only in Spanish) If you're a few hundred miles inland though, your only access to local opinion in our two closest neighbors is online. With Mexico being entwined in one of the hottest issues in U.S. politics today -- and Canada being central to another current political hot potato -- it's a shame we're more exposed to Tokyo's opinion than to Ottawa's or Mexico City's.

A Canadian all news channel (CBC Newsworld) was tried here and failed to gain any traction. It's slot was eventually purchased by Al Gore and - a couple of iterations later - is now known as Current TV. Yes, I'd love to see it or CTV's news channel made available again, but I am not holding my breath.

As for Mexican news, if anything it is overrepresented on US cable systems. Galavision supplies the same national news that viewers in Mexico get from Televisa. TV Azteca supplies their Mexican national news to their US affiliates as well. Not to mention that most cable systems do offer CNN en Espanol now - which is the same 24/7 news channel that you'd get in Mexico. I don't know that there is a 24/7 dedicated (domestic) news channel in Mexico at this point, but I do not believe that there is. Anyhow, there's no shortage of news from that country in the US. None at all.

Comcast in the Chicago suburbs has yet to add BBC World to their lineup and it has not been announced yet. But, if it's showing up on Comcast lineups elsewhere, I'd think that it's just a matter of time before it does. I hope so.....

 

[Mediafrog+]

BBC is being added to a lot of systems, due to the BBC loss of their shortwave service, and the need to justify their continued existence via "new technologies". They are also doing a lot more with internet and satellite.

The BBC World Service is still on shortwave, but the number and hours of transmission has been significantly cut back over the past decade. The remaining SW services are for Africa and Asia, although these will be greatly reduced over the next few years. Many other countries have eliminated shortwave, or have drastically reduced output. For instance Germany's Deutsche Welle, which has been slowly trimming SW over the past decade, eliminated 80% of its remaining output at the end of October. Broadcasters are finally realizing that the audiences for SW in much of the world are microscopic, not worth the cost of maintaining a service.

Satellite TV and The Internet are the shortwave of the 21st century.

China is on a huge kick to improve their international image, going so far as to buy time (in some cases, even full-time, 24/7) on many US radio stations.

Here in Houston, China Radio International is on two AM stations at opposite ends of the market. The Voice of Russia has popped up in a couple of cities as well.

 

[recto101]

On Directv ABS-CBN News Channel (Philippines) is on and CCTV China is on. Directv also airs news/talk radio DZMM 630 AM from Manila. This News/Talk station is owned by ABS-CBN inc.

 

[BRNout]

Satellite TV and The Internet are the shortwave of the 21st century.

While I recognize the economic reality of this there is a tragic flaw in the strategy: the internet is easily shut down during times of instability. Most countries have the ability to "pull the plug" and then where does you news come from? And, satellite is a relatively fragile system that's far too easy to jam. It also does you no good if you don't have electricity!

Shortwave is more robust and portable. In an emergency, it wins hands-down.

 

[w9wi]

A Canadian all news channel (CBC Newsworld) was tried here and failed to gain any traction. It's slot was eventually purchased by Al Gore and - a couple of iterations later - is now known as Current TV. Yes, I'd love to see it or CTV's news channel made available again, but I am not holding my breath.

True, and unfortunate.

As for Mexican news, if anything it is overrepresented on US cable systems. Galavision supplies the same national news that viewers in Mexico get from Televisa. TV Azteca supplies their Mexican national news to their US affiliates as well. Not to mention that most cable systems do offer CNN en Espanol now - which is the same 24/7 news channel that you'd get in Mexico. I don't know that there is a 24/7 dedicated (domestic) news channel in Mexico at this point, but I do not believe that there is. Anyhow, there's no shortage of news from that country in the US. None at all.

But all those channels are in Spanish. Arguably they're intended for Mexican nationals in the U.S. and Americans of Mexican descent -- not for the general English-speaking population. Unlike channels like CCTV, AJE, and RT - which are programmed, not in the native language of their home countries, but in English, and intended for American (or at least, English-speaking foreign) audiences.

 

[rjoc]

This thread mentions eight countries' news channels being carried on U.S. cable/satellite services.

I note an obvious absence -- the two countries closest to the U.S. aren't represented! Sure, the CBC is on a few cable systems along the border. (and I wouldn't be surprised if Mexican stations are on U.S. cable systems along the southern border -- but only in Spanish) If you're a few hundred miles inland though, your only access to local opinion in our two closest neighbors is online. With Mexico being entwined in one of the hottest issues in U.S. politics today -- and Canada being central to another current political hot potato -- it's a shame we're more exposed to Tokyo's opinion than to Ottawa's or Mexico City's.

Agreed! Here in Eastern Maine we get CBC from Montreal via TimeWarner (although further "downeast" along the Canadian border they get both CBC and CTV off-air from Saint John NB.)
I do wish we could get the CBC or CTV newschannels on cable. But watching the "National" at 10PM with Peter Mansbridge gives an excellent perspective of world news, and is much more complete than ABC/CBS or NBC....IMHO.

 

[NHRadio]

They used to, but no longer, at least in the Boston DMA. What channel is it on where you are?

Directv has CCTV 9 China