The 91Èȱ¬ Trust has approved proposals for the 91Èȱ¬ to establish bbc.com, a commercial venture to offer advertising on the 91Èȱ¬'s international online service for users outside the UK. UK users' experience of bbc.co.uk will not be affected.
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bbc.com will deliver a new flow of income from international visitors into the 91Èȱ¬ for investment in its core journalistic mission and capabilities, and into 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide and 91Èȱ¬ Global News to strengthen the range and reach of their offering to international audiences.
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91Èȱ¬ Worldwide, in conjunction with 91Èȱ¬ 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: 91Èȱ¬ web server stats) Ìýunique users per month from outside the UK who mainly access the highly regarded news pages.
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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 91Èȱ¬ News.
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bbc.com will deliver significant new funds for investment by the 91Èȱ¬. 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide will pay the 91Èȱ¬ for the rights and services it uses and, given that the majority of the international traffic to the website is to the news pages, 91Èȱ¬ News will be the principal benefactor of these payments.
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91Èȱ¬ Worldwide has entered into a joint venture with 91Èȱ¬ World covering the news, sport and weather parts of the site, which means that 91Èȱ¬ 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 91Èȱ¬ News and 91Èȱ¬ Global News to invest in journalism and new services.
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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 91Èȱ¬'s reputation is not damaged and that the Corporation's highly regarded journalistic and editorial values will be fully upheld.
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bbc.com mirrors the situation with other 91Èȱ¬ international activities, such as 91Èȱ¬ World, the international news channel managed by the 91Èȱ¬'s Global News division, which has carried advertising from launch in 1991. 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide's 91Èȱ¬-branded entertainment TV channels, such as 91Èȱ¬ America in the US, also carry adverts.
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bbc.com will use robust geo-IP technology (see Editor's Notes) to separate out international visitors to the site.
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bbc.com is an integral part of the 91Èȱ¬'s Global News strategy of providing a richer range of services to international audiences reflecting changing audience needs.
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Over recent months, a new World News America show anchored by Matt Frei has been launched on 91Èȱ¬ America and 91Èȱ¬ World, as well as an on-demand video service on both the 91Èȱ¬'s website and YouTube for international audiences. All these services are commercial services supported by advertising.
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Richard Sambrook, Director, 91Èȱ¬ Global News, commented: "91Èȱ¬ 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.Ìý Introducing advertising on international traffic to news pages is a natural development in the growth of the 91Èȱ¬'s commercial news services.
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"It will enable us to deliver a stronger service for the benefit of our audiences throughout the world."
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bbc.com is central to 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide's strategy to increase dramatically the scale of its direct-to-consumer businesses, principally through launching a series of 91Èȱ¬-branded television channels and web services.
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The roll-out of the TV channel strategy is already well underway, and the approval of bbc.com is a key milestone.
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91Èȱ¬ 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 91Èȱ¬'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 91Èȱ¬ programme archive.
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John Smith, CEO, 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide, said: "We welcome the decision from the 91Èȱ¬ Trust today to approve bbc.com. It is a key step in delivering our strategy of growing our online revenues to 10% of revenues and building a portfolio of direct to consumer business.
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"We plan to invest in bbc.com to make it a showcase of the best of the 91Èȱ¬'s content ranging from Top Gear to Planet Earth to the riches of the programme archive in a way that appeals international audiences."
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The financial support for the 91Èȱ¬'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 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide, allowing the Grant in Aid to be reprioritised within the 91Èȱ¬ World Service.
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The 91Èȱ¬ 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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This proposal was approved by 91Èȱ¬ Trust. More information can be found at:
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Esther Brown
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Notes to Editors:
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Geo-IP
91Èȱ¬ Worldwide will use robust Geo- IP software provided by Quova which canÌýlocateÌýex-UK visitors with more than 99.96% accuracy.
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About 91Èȱ¬ Trust
The 91Èȱ¬ Trust is the 91Èȱ¬'s independent, governing body. For information about the 91Èȱ¬ Trust visit the website: .
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About 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide
91Èȱ¬ Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (91Èȱ¬). The company exists to maximise the value of the 91Èȱ¬'s assets for the benefit of the licence payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has six core businesses: Global Channels, Global TV Sales, Magazines, Content & Production, 91Èȱ¬ Entertainment and Digital Media. In 2006/07 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide generated profits of £111 million on sales of £810 million.
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All of 91Èȱ¬ Worldwide's commercial activities must adhere to four criteria as set out in the 91Èȱ¬'s new Royal Charter: they must fit with the 91Èȱ¬'s public purpose activities, must not jeopardise the 91Èȱ¬'s reputation or the value of the 91Èȱ¬ brand, must exhibit commercial efficiency and must comply with the 91Èȱ¬'s Fair Trading guidelines.
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About 91Èȱ¬ Global News
The 91Èȱ¬ÌýGlobal NewsÌýDivision includesÌý91Èȱ¬ World Service radio, 91Èȱ¬ Monitoring, 91Èȱ¬ WorldÌýtelevision and the 91Èȱ¬'s international facing online news services, and provides a focal point for viewers and listeners around the world.Ìý Together, these services attract a combined global weekly audience of over 233 million.Ìý The Division's aim,Ìýunder the leadership of its Director Richard Sambrook, isÌýto be the world'sÌýbest known, most creative and most respected voice in international news.
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