Yahoo! has struck a deal to begin offering clips of BBC News video to US web users.

The BBC will offer around 30 video clips of its news output each day via a deal Yahoo! has struck with ABC News, which has exclusive representation for the distribution of BBC News via on demand broadband and wireless content in North America.

"The demand for BBC content in the US is growing all the time and we believe our expansion on new digital platforms is critically important to helping us meet that demand," said the director of the BBC's global news division, Richard Sambrook.

ABC News struck the distribution agreement with the BBC in January.

Bernard Gershon, the senior vice-president and general manager at ABC News digital media group, said the Yahoo! deal was a "strong first step" in "expanding the BBC's presence in broadband in the North American market".

All of the BBC News content will be available for free to Yahoo! users supported by an advertising-funded model.

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