| BBC
Worldwide in conjunction with BBC Global News will be responsible
for the development of BBC.com. The current site has been very
successful in attracting international traffic, and it currently
has more than 40 million (Source: BBC web server stats) unique
users per month from outside the UK who mainly access the highly
regarded news pages.
Following
the launch of BBC.com, advertising will be introduced on selected
high-traffic pages, visible only to users accessing the site
from outside the UK, and over time will be rolled across more
of the site.
Editorial
control of the news pages will continue to be the responsibility
of BBC News.
bbc.com will deliver new funds for investment by the BBC.
BBC Worldwide will pay the BBC for the rights and services
it uses and, given that the majority of the international
traffic to the website is to the news pages, BBC News will
be the principal benefactor of these payments.
BBC
Worldwide has entered into a joint venture with BBC World
covering the news, sport and weather parts of the site, which
means that BBC World will receive a portion of the economic
benefits from this exploitation in return for providing their
editorial, audience and advertising expertise and on-air cross-promotion.
Together these represent a significant new source of income
for BBC News and BBC Global News to invest in journalism and
new services.
The
introduction of advertising on bbc.com will not affect the
quality or integrity of the web site. A system of robust editorial
safeguards will be implemented to ensure that the BBC's reputation
is not damaged and that the Corporation's highly regarded
journalistic and editorial values will be fully upheld.
bbc.com
mirrors the situation with other BBC international activities,
such as BBC World, the international news channel managed
by the BBC's Global News division, which has carried advertising
from launch in 1991. BBC Worldwide's BBC-branded entertainment
TV channels, such as BBC America in the US, also carry adverts.
bbc.com
will use geo-IP technology to separate out international visitors
to the site. bbc.com is a part of the BBC's global news strategy
of providing a richer range of services to international audiences
reflecting changing audience needs.
Over
recent months, a new World News America show anchored by Matt
Frei has been launched on BBC America and BBC World, as well
as an on-demand video service on both the BBC's website and
YouTube for international audiences. All these services are
commercial services supported by advertising.
BBC
global news director Richard Sambrook says, "BBC News
has built an unrivalled reputation for impartial, in-depth
news reporting. Today it is the most trusted source of news
and information for millions of people around the world. Introducing
advertising on international traffic to news pages is a natural
development in the growth of the BBC's commercial news services.
"It
will enable us to deliver a stronger service for the benefit
of our audiences throughout the world."
bbc.com
is central to BBC Worldwide's strategy to increase dramatically
the scale of its direct-to-consumer businesses, principally
through launching a series of BBC-branded television channels
and web services.
The
roll-out of the TV channel strategy is already well underway,
and the approval of bbc.com is a key milestone.
BBC
Worldwide plans to invest to grow both the reach and functionality
of bbc.com and to build editorial services so that site offers
the best of the BBC's output, tailored to the needs of international
audiences. These services will cover key genres like Natural
History, key programme brands like Top Gear, and the BBC programme
archive.
BBC
Worldwide CEO John Smith said, "We welcome the decision
from the BBC Trust today to approve bbc.com. It is a key step
in delivering our strategy of growing our online revenues
to 10 per cent of revenues and building a portfolio of direct
to consumer business.
"We
plan to invest in bbc.com to make it a showcase of the best
of the BBC's content ranging from Top Gear to Planet Earth
to the riches of the programme archive in a way that appeals
international audiences."
The
financial support for the BBC's international facing site
that was previously provided via Grant in Aid by the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will now be taken on by BBC
Worldwide, allowing the Grant in Aid to be reprioritised within
the BBC World Service.
The
BBC World Service's 32 non-English-language sites will continue
to be funded by Grant in Aid from the FCO and are not impacted
by the bbc.com proposition in any way.
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