NEW DELHI: BBC World today announced its new distribution figures which show the channel is now available in more homes worldwide than ever before.

BBC World can now be received in 253.6 million homes in over 200 countries around the world. Of these, 100 million homes receive the channel on a 24-hour basis. In addition to the 830,000 hotel rooms, 15 airlines and 14 cruise ships already carrying the channel, this marks an all time high for BBC World's global reach.

Director of Sales and Distribution, BBC World, Jeff Hazell, said; " In just 15 months the total number of homes receiving BBC World has increased by 42 per cent (178m to 253.6m) and these increases have come from every region of the world. It is also very much in line with regional audience research received for the same period indicating that BBC World is the fastest growing international news channel around."

Among the regions which experienced significant increases in 24 hour distribution of BBC World was India where the cable distribution has risen steadily from 11 to 15 million 24-hour homes. Europe also showed considerable growth, Eastern Europe in particular where cable is developing rapidly and BBC World is proving to be increasingly popular. In Western Europe, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain were notable for increases in both cable and satellite distribution. Elsewhere, Latin America continued to show steady growth in full and part time distribution, most significantly in Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina. In Asia Pacific, BBC World has also recently gone full time on Malaysia's digital Astro satellite platform.

An official release informs that BBC World is also available on the two dominant satellites in the Middle East; Nilesat and Arabsat. In addition, part time distribution of BBC World has also experienced significant growth with an increase in the number of homes receiving the channel, specifically in Africa and the USA.