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BBC plan to sell off part of £1bn-a-year Worldwide arm
14.09.09
The BBC is considering selling a portion of its lucrative commercial division as part of a review into the corporation's activities, it emerged today.
Director-general Mark Thompson revealed that a part-privatisation of BBC Worldwide, which sells the international rights to shows such as Life On Mars, Top Gear and Strictly Come Dancing, was an option as the corporation faces growing pressure over its market dominance.
Mr Thompson said: “One of the things we should look at over this period is whether 100 per cent ownership of Worldwide is essential.” If the move went ahead, investors would be able to buy shares in BBC Worldwide which last year made more than £1 billion.
Mr Thompson stressed that the corporation was looking at a “whole range of things”, including offering a stake to a rival broadcaster or an international partner.
His comments came after the BBC Trust last week ordered a review of all BBC activities in 2012 when the corporation will complete its digital switchover.
The BBC is under fire from senior politicians and commercial rivals to reduce its market dominance and share a slice of the £3.7 billion annual licence fee with rival broadcasters.
James Murdoch, head of News Corporation UK, described the BBC as “Orwellian” last month.
He said the BBC's network of websites, which are free to access, made it difficult for other news providers to turn online news into a commercially-viable product.
Mr Thompson hit back today, describing the corporation's free online news as “utterly non-negotiable”. He told Media Guardian: “I would rather the BBC was abolished than we started encrypting news to stop people seeing it. The absolute first building block keystone of the BBC is delivering impartial, unbiased news.”
The BBC has also come under scrutiny over executive pay after it emerged that both Mr Thompson and BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons earned more money last year despite salary and job cuts across the broadcaster.
The Conservatives have said they would cut the pay of the director-general from £834,000 to no higher than the Prime Minister's £192,250, should they win the next election.
Mr Thompson defended his salary saying: “Let's be clear, we're not paying competitive salaries. We're paying salaries that have very significant discounts to the labour market we operate in. If you want to be director-general of the BBC, you've got to recognise that you'll earn a hell of a lot less than if you're running BSkyB, ITV or even Channel 4.”
Reader views (16)
How about selling thompson himself!
- C Cusano, Bedford
In what way will licence fee payers benefit from the sale of the moneymaking arm of the BBC to to one of Mark Thompson's sleazy friends?
- Romy Farnham, Hammersmith, UK
I used to work for ITV so know how fragile any position in ‘non public funded’ media can be. Selling off BBC Worldwide will lead to job cuts and a loss of quality. It’s pretty disappointing to see a highly paid television director coming up with a quick-fix a solution that will end up depriving the BBC a huge amount of revenue. As we have seen with the railways privatisation does not work. I’m sure American media moguls will be falling over themselves to get a piece of this action, knowing the British tax payer will be bailing them out whenever there’s cash short fall.
- Paul, London
cut wages to people like himself and the other part timers
- Rsaviour, lonodn england
I'm I the only one to see the utter irony of a Murdoch of all things calling a competitor Orwellian and monopolistic...?
- Jkl, London
Another bright idea from the labour party,like selling Britains gold reserves at the lowest price
- Linda, italy
BBC Worldwide may be a commercial arm, but it was set up using funds from the licence fee, which means it is already in public ownership. How about returning £1bn to the poor licence tax payers?
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one
What does the article mean by made more than £1 billion? Is that turnover or profit? Irrespective the word lucrative is used to suggest high levels of profitability. What will replace this profit that is obviously a valuable source of income subsidising the amount required from the licence payer? Does not sound like a very good business plan to me!
- Mark, Sussex
The BBC has had it day, bring in advertisement and let it pay its way, £139 per year just to watch Top Gear.
- David, Abbey Wood
have we not learned anything - selling off the family silver (trains, gas, electricity, BT) does nothing but increase the costs and reduces the quality to the consumer. There are somethings that should not be sold off and the BBC (or 'lucrative' parts of it) and the Royal Mail are two that should remain in public ownership.
- Andy, London
Well said Manny Goldstein. Generally speaking, at the BBC those who fail get a promotion and those who perform well are often sacked. The BBC Club is the HQ of the order of The Brown Nose. Sack BBC bureaucracy !
- Hector Vigo, VIGO -SPAIN
Well said 'James, London' Mark Thompson seems to want to have his cake and eat it!
The BBC is a national and international public service organization, those who work their should know this so comparing themselves and their salary to the private sector is not relevant.
One simple difference, in the private sector, those who fail to perform are sacked, when was the last time a senior BBC staff member was sacked on those grounds?
- Manny Goldstein, London, England
Now is not the time to sell assets, no money no buyers !
If you sell these buyers will be your competitors.
Do you want to hand your most valuable assets over to an Americanised media tycoon, for a fraction of what he is likely to exploit them for ?
Don't move to Manchester and save more money than you make from this sale !
- James, City of London
I get BBC Worldwide here in Japan. It's utter rubbish. It's been stripped of every show except Equestrian HorseDancing or whatever Rolex tells them to call it and now just features corpo-babble aimed at maintaining the status quo.
- Hidflect, Tokyo, Japan
The conservatives ought to consider sacking Mark Thompson. He insults the intelligence of viewers by describing the odious foul mouthed Ross as "talented".
- R.F., Yorks, UK
Mr Thompson, YOU may think that you have earned your astronomically high salary. There are significant numbers of the public who think that's very far from the case.
- James, London
