THE COMMERCIAL arm of the BBC has grown out of control and must be reined in to prevent the broadcaster from further damaging rivals and its own reputation, an influential report said.
The Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee said yesterday it was worried by the path BBC Worldwide had taken in recent years, including its “controversial” purchase of the Lonely Planet travel company.
“Worldwide’s new activities risk jeopardising the reputation of the BBC and have had an adverse impact on its commercial competitors,” the report said.
BBC Worldwide, which sells programmes, formats, magazines, DVDs and books based on its brands, has grown strongly in recent years and posted profits of £118 million (€131 million) in 2007-08. But the corporation has been criticised for chasing commercial revenues by many of its rivals, which are struggling against a fall in advertising.
While the Commons committee said it generally backed the role of BBC Worldwide to exploit BBC intellectual property, it said it was concerned about how some commercial revenue was generated.
“New businesses . . . particularly its minority stakes in overseas production companies, its . . . acquisition of Lonely Planet, and its growing portfolio of magazines, suggest that the balance has been tipped too far in favour of Worldwide’s unrestricted expansion.”
The committee said it recommended that the BBC Trust reinstate the rule that all commercial activity should have a clear link to core BBC programming. It also suggested that the BBC should consider selling more of its rights for exploitation on the open market, rather than offering them exclusively to Worldwide.
“We believe it is in the interests of the UK’s creative economy as a whole that BBC Worldwide’s activities are reined back,” it said.
In light of the problems facing commercial broadcasters, the UK’s media regulator and government have indicated they would support a partnership between BBC Worldwide and Channel 4. However, the committee warned that this move could make BBC Worldwide an even more aggressive commercial organisation.
The BBC said Worldwide was designed to maximise commercial value as requested by successive governments. It said it had proposed changes and would expand on them once it has settled any talks with Channel 4. – (Reuters)