BBC World is here to stay, vows BBC boss

The director general of the BBC, Mark Thompson, said the broadcaster will retain global news TV channel BBC World, despite calls from an independent auditor to close the money-losing venture.

Speaking at a Broadcast Press Guild lunch, the BBC boss said that BBC World, which is a commercially funded channel, should be kept running, despite losing more than £16 million a year.

“BBC World had its best year ever last year in advertising terms and is a very important part of our global networks strategy,” he said.