BBC World has signed its first carriage agreement with a US cable operator.

Cablevision, which serves households in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, will add the global news channel to its "iO" digital cable lineup later this month.

"Studies show us that there's a huge increase in US audience demand for international news, but domestic US networks seem to be focusing on fewer and fewer international stories," said BBC global news chief Richard Sambrook. "The BBC's massive newsgathering strength means we're able to bring audiences breaking news stories from anywhere in the world within minutes. We are very pleased to have secured our first major distribution agreement in the US before such a discriminating and significant audience."

The deal comes two months after BBC World signed a distribution agreement with Discovery, which also distributes BBC America.

"BBC World News is a quality addition to our iO® digital cable service, and we are pleased that our customers will be the first in the nation to experience this compelling programming service," said Patricia Gottesman, executive vice president of product management and marketing at Cablevision.