BBC chief outlines global ambitions
“The BBC is the only European brand that could take on Google and AOL,” says BBC director-general Mark Thompson.
Following the announcement of Share Find Play, and given their strong, respected brand, an expanding international commercial operation, and the pile of cash they get from the TV licence fee, Thompson might be right. It is also nice to know that Yahoo and MSN didn't make his list.
The BBC wants to expand its international commercial activities through BBC Worldwide, explore various acquisitions, such as video-on-demand services and expansion of magazine publishing overseas, and launch BBC.com, an advertising-supported website accessible outside the UK, by the end of the year.
All this while asking the government to have UK households give them more money to run the business.
In the UK, households pay an annual TV licence fee of £126.50 per year, which funds much of the BBC's operations. The licence fee for the next ten years is currently in negotiation, and the BBC is seeking a rise of inflation plus 2.3 percent.
While the cash will certainly help the BBC compete with the likes of Google and AOL, what is the impact on local competition?
ITV, already faced with an 11% decline in ad revenue predicted at the channel for the end of the year cannot be very happy.
Technorati Tags: media, uk, bbc, google
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
 Comments:
|
