It began as the British Commonwealth International Newsfilm Agency (BCINA), which was setup with help from The Rank Organisation when that company closed its cinema newsreel operation.
The original headquarters in School Road, Acton, London NW10, had formerly been a Rank Laboratory.
The founder shareholder broadcasters were the ABC (Australia), the BBC, CBC (Canada) CYBC (Cyprus) and NZBC (New Zealand).
At its peak, Visnews supplied international news material to 400 broadcasters globally.
In its early days, distribution was mainly through shipped film and electronically via the Eurovision News Exchange.