Singapore – BBC World News has boosted its audience in India by over 20 percent, after signing a major new deal with Sun Direct that takes the channel’s overall India distribution to around 22 million. The new arrangement, which begins this month, will see the BBC’s international, commercially-funded channel placed on the Basic pack on Sun Direct’s platform. This will mean the channel is now available to the entire spectrum of Sun Direct viewers, which numbers close to 5 million households across the country. The deal comes hot on the heels of new programming on the channel dedicated to viewers in South Asia. The Hub with Nik Gowing is among a number of new programmes on BBC World News, launched at the beginning of February. The show, which is broadcast Monday to Friday 16.00-17.30 GMT, will take a look at international news from a South Asian perspective. Colin Lawrence, commercial director of BBC World News, says, “This is a great start to 2010 for us in what is a hugely important market. The fact that an extra 5 million households in India can now watch us directly is very significant, and we’re delighted that Sun Direct, India’s youngest and number 2 DTH Company, has taken us onto its platform. Our new schedule also gives Indian viewers content that is tailored to them, so we’re excited about the future here.”