BBC News (also referred to as the BBC News Channel) is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989. Since then, with several relaunches, an increase in funding and resources from the BBC and improvements in digital television technology, the channel has been able to diversify content, with two minute looped bulletins available to view via BBC Red Button, BBC News Online and the BBC's mobile website, alongside individual weather and sport bulletins.

In May 2007, the channel became available for UK viewers to view through the BBC News website through a live stream. In April 2008, the channel was renamed "BBC News" as part of a £550,000 rebranding of the BBC's news output, complete with a new studio and presentation. Its sister services, BBC World was also renamed as "BBC World News" while the national news bulletins became BBC News at One, BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten.

BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage. The service maintains 44 foreign news bureaux and has correspondents in almost all of the world's 240 countries. Since 2004, the Director of BBC News has been Helen Boaden.

The department's annual budget is £350 million; it has 3,500 staff, 2,000 of whom are journalists. Through the BBC English Regions, BBC News has regional centres across England as well as national news centres in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. All regions and nations produce their own local news programmes and other current affairs and sport programmes.

Radio and television operations are broadcast from BBC Television Centre in West London, though are due to move to the newly refurbished Broadcasting House in central London by 2013. Television Centre houses all domestic, global, and online news divisions within one main newsroom. Parliamentary coverage is produced and broadcast from studios in Millbank in London.

Lizo Mzimba is the Entertainment Correspondent for BBC News.

He attended the independent Solihull School (during which time he was also leader of the Birmingham Schools' Symphony Orchestra) and The University of Birmingham. Whilst at Birmingham he was a prolific member of the student TV station, winning awards at NaSTA (National Student Television Association). By 1991 he was contributing to Sounds magazine.

Following this, Mzimba was one of the longest-serving presenters, a reporter and an assistant producer for CBBC's Newsround between 1998 and May 2008; second only to John Craven.

Mzimba was also a reporter for BBC TV's coverage of the 2005 UK General Election and the Barack Obama 2009 presidential inauguration.

Esther Louise Rantzen CBE (born 22 June 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, who is best known for presenting the BBC television series That's Life!, and for her work in various charitable causes. She is founder of the child protection charity ChildLine, and also advocates the work of the Burma Campaign UK. In July 2009 she announced that she would stand as a candidate for Parliament of the United Kingdom in Luton South at the 2010 general election; however, she came fourth behind the three main parties.

Rantzen was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, to Katherine Flora (née Leverson) (1911–2005) and Henry Barnato Rantzen (1902–1992). Rantzen has one younger sister, Priscilla N. Taylor (née Rantzen). She was educated at the North London Collegiate School and Somerville College, Oxford, where she read English, performed with the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), became Secretary of The Experimental Theatre Club (ETC) and joined the Oxford Theatre Group, performing in Oxford and Edinburgh.