George Alagiah to present NewsHour

One of the BBC’s most respected and well-known presenters George Alagiah is to present a new programme for BBC World.

NewsHour, which launches in June, will be broadcast each weekday during peak times in the key markets around the world, including the U.S. breakfast peak and Asia evening peak.

Alagiah, who will continue to co-present the Six O’clock News with Natasha Kaplinsky, is to present the 12.00-13.00 GMT programme each Monday to Thursday.

The introduction of NewsHour is part of the channel’s plan to establish regular NewsHour programmes throughout the day, to ensure BBC World delivers tailored news programming during breakfast and evening peak-times across key time zones.

Richard Sambrook, director of the BBC Global News Division, commented: “We are extremely pleased to have a journalist of George’s calibre on board to present our new programme. George has achieved tremendous success in the UK for his objective coverage, in-depth international knowledge, and his sharp interviewing skills. His experience and his ability to uncover the news behind each story will be crucial for the success of NewsHour, which was created to ensure that BBC World delivers continuous and authoritative news programming to its audiences in the U.S. during peak morning hours, and in East Asia in the evening.”

“As a foreign correspondent for a decade, I saw first-hand how people around the world turned to the BBC for its sheer breadth of coverage and the authority with which it came. Now, more than ever, American audiences are interested to find out how global events can have an impact on their lives and Newshour will bring them the day’s international news stories from an impartial and global perspective.”