It's a little like the BBC world service news, which is pretty good (especially compared to sky and cnn and so on), except you can't get it in the UK ... it even has the same presenters that are on the normal BBC 24 News, and 10 o'clock news! It's weird to say the least.
But it gets even more weird, as programmes made by the licence pay version of the BBC appear on the world service news. I was watching it a week ago in a hotel room and noticed they were showed Click, a programme made by the BBC in the UK. So what is that doing being shown on the commercial arm of the BBC?
> So what is that doing being shown on the commercial arm of the BBC?
BBC World News is distinct from BBC Worldwide, they're different commercial groups. It has a much closer relationship with BBC News, which is publicly funded. BBC Worldwide exists to make a profit, whereas BBC World News is commercially funded but not profit driven. It's...complicated.
They're simply not allowed to have ads (or direct subscriber fees) in front of the license-paid British public. The same content may be available elsewhere with adverts or fees (and that does provide a substantial chunk of their income), but those extra money-making bits are only allowed offshore. The British public have already paid for what they get, so double-dipping is not allowed. (And unlike some other "public" broadcasters, your programming isn't regularly preempted for fundraising begathons featuring programming that almost none of the regular viewers like.)
But it gets even more weird, as programmes made by the licence pay version of the BBC appear on the world service news. I was watching it a week ago in a hotel room and noticed they were showed Click, a programme made by the BBC in the UK. So what is that doing being shown on the commercial arm of the BBC?