Over the past year, BBC America has worked to expand its brand in the U.S. Those efforts requires it to be more independent from its cable distributor, Discovery Networks. Recognizing that, BBC America is creating its own dedicated ad sales group, AdAge reports. For the past nine years, BBC America, which is available in 60 million households, has relied on Discovery’s ad sales force.

Mark Gall, SVP, BBC America and BBC Digital Media Sales, will head the new group, which will be in place by next April. He’ll be responsible for all ad sales across the BBC’s cable and digital platforms, including BBC.com, which became ad-supported outside the U.K. early last month. The site is the fifth most viewed online broadcast news site in the U.S., averaging 10 million uniques a month, according to comScore.

In a Q&A, Gall explained why he thinks the channel and its website are an easy sell to advertisers: since TV programming vet Garth Ancier, arrived as president of BBC Worldwide Americas’ U.S. operations in February, the median age of its audience fell by 10 years to 37; its heavy dose of news and documentaries is more “lean-forward” than lean-back than other genres, meaning its viewers are more engaged; its upscale audience still enjoys Monty Python reruns and extends its positive feelings to the network as a whole.

• Industry Moves: Programming Vet Ancier Tapped To Head BBC Worldwide Americas