BBC World Sets Sail On Board P&O Cruises And Swan Hellenic Luxury Ships

BBC World, the BBC's 24-hour international news and information
channel has increased its presence within the international tourism
market, with a new distribution deal for the provision of the channel
on board cruise ships. The first luxury cruise ships to receive BBC
World will be those of P&O Cruises and Swan Hellenic. This represents
the first time that the channel has been available on cruise ships.

The distribution agreement was signed by BBC World with Advanced
Satellite Technology (AST), specialists in supplying programming
solutions in a maritime environment. AST will distribute BBC World
to P&O Cruises' Aurora, Oriana, Arcadia and Victoria and to Swan
Hellenic's Minerva.

The ships receiving BBC World have over 3,000 cabins and travel to
destinations such as Rio, Sydney, Cape Town, Mauritius, San
Francisco, Barbados, Singapore and Hong Kong. Passengers on board the
luxury ships will be able to catch up with all the latest news,
business, sport and weather on BBC World, 24-hours a day, and enjoy
the channel's award-winning current affairs, documentary and
lifestyle programming.

With the launch on board of BBC World, business people travelling on
the liners can keep up to date with all the latest share and market
news, even when in holiday mode, with programmes such as World
Business Report. For those already planning their next vacation
Holiday will offer a wealth of ideas, while car enthusiasts don't
need to be on dry land to enjoy Top Gear, with all the news and views
from the world of motoring. And fittingly Top Gear dips its toe in
the water in the New Year, with six programmes showcasing all manner
of boats - from elegant classics to aquatic eccentrics!

Carol Marlow, Sales and Marketing Director, P&O Cruises, comments "In
BBC World we have found the perfect broadcasting partner to enable us
to provide an enhanced service for our passengers. P&O Cruises and
Swan Hellenic cruise passengers now have access to BBC programming no
matter where they are in the world from the Caribbean to the Far East
and even Australia. P&O Cruises and Swan Hellenic pride themselves on
providing the very best in contemporary cruising for passengers. By
being the first cruise company to feature BBC World we are once again
leading the way."

William Mould, BBC World's Head of Hotel Distribution, states: "We
are delighted that P&O Cruises now offers BBC World to passengers on
the company's prestigious ships, and to have secured the channel's
first distribution on board cruise ships. This builds on the
significant gains we have already made within the growing travel
sector, where the channel has a strong presence on international
airlines and is distributed in over 600,000
hotel rooms worldwide."

Kevin Franklin, Product Manager Advanced Satellite Technology says,
"AST is proud to be associated with BBC World, in offering quality
programming to cruise companies and believe that this deal provides
an unbeatable package of programming and equipment."



NOTES

BBC World is distributed in 173 million homes (75 million 24-hour
homes) and 600,000 hotel rooms worldwide. BBC World has the world's

largest broadcast news operation and draws on the expertise of more
than 250 correspondents around the world, offering impartial and
objective journalism of the highest standard. BBC World's dedicated
24-hour fully digital newsroom and studio is located at London's BBC
Television Centre. This is the world's first all digital 24-hour
newsroom.

P&O Cruises operates four ships - Aurora with its 939 cabins and 850
crew, Oriana - 914 cabins, 794 crew, Arcadia - 748 cabins, 650 crew
and Victoria - 378 cabins, 436 crew and Minerva as part of Swan
Hellenic with its 171 cabins, 165 crew. All the ships have numerous
public areas including bars, lounges, restaurants, libraries and
theatres / cinemas.

Advanced Satellite Technology (AST) has specialised in supplying
communications and entertainment equipment since 1992. With a blue
chip customer base for satellite communications including
organisations as diverse as the UN, The Daily Telegraph, BHP
Petroleum, Oxfam and Rolls Royce, AST offers a one-stop shop for
hardware and airtime. AST is one of the minority of companies
offering virtually all major satellite airtime packages including
AceS, Globalstar, Vodaphone and Inmarsat.