International expansion is central to CNBC’s strategy, president Mark Hoffman tells the International Herald Tribune. The early-morning business show “Worldwide Exchange” is one branch of that, but it “extends beyond programming and content.”

Quoting the story: “CNBC is also working on new distribution agreements in an effort to lift the number of households that have access to the channel to 250 million worldwide from about 230 million now, Hoffman said. It is also moving into new areas, with a channel called CNBC Africa, set up in partnership with Middle Eastern and South African investors, set to start next year.”