• Reuters, Thursday, July 15, 2010 11:30 PM

British state broadcaster BBC is launching its first U.S. focused news site at BBC.com, which will see it go into more direct competition with local broadcasters and newspapers. BBC has recruited journalists to bulk up its coverage of general news, sports, business and entertainment on the site which launches with advertising partner HP. The BBC receives a guaranteed $5.4 billon each year from the license fee, paid by every British household.

While BBC's TV, radio and Web operations in the UK do not feature any advertising, the bbc.co.uk global Website features ads when viewed by users in the U.S. Miranda Cresswell, senior vice president of BBC.com, said in a stated: "You're going to see more analysis, more insight and more perspective that connects the dots on events and issues that affect us all in the U.S."

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