BBC Studios, the commercial arm of Britain's BBC, has chosen Rebecca Glashow, currently president of BBC Studios Americas, to head its global distribution from New York, underlining its commitment to the U.S. market.

Glashow will lead on global distribution outside Britain and Ireland, encompassing content sales, direct-to-consumer services, international channels, co-productions and licensing, BBC Studios said on Monday.

BBC Studios, which has "Top Gear" and "Doctor Who" in its portfolio, was created in 2018 to bring together the BBC's commercial production with international distribution to supplement income from the license fee paid by British TV-watching households.

The BBC said in its annual report it wanted the arm to contribute 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) of income in the five years from 2022/23, building on major partnerships with the likes of FX and Discovery.

($1 = 0.7404 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate Holton)