Top management at the BBC in a review of the public broadcasters various businesses is considering a partial privatisation of its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.
BBC director-general Mark Thompson told The Guardian, the review proposed listing BBC Worldwide on the stock market. BBC Worldwide posted revenues of nearly £ 1 billion last year,
The partial privatisation would allow investors to buy shares in BBC Worldwide, while the BBC would maintain control of commercial activities, such as international distribution of programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing and Top Gear, magazine publishing and merchandising and licensing.
The BBC has been under pressure from both sides of the British Parliament to share the revenues it derives from its license fee.
The BBC has reportedly been exploring a possible joint venture between BBC Worldwide and commercial broadcaster Channel 4, but had never disclosed the possibility of a sale.
Thompson said there were numerous options on the table which included offering a stake of BBC Worldwide to a rival broadcaster or even an international partner.
The BBC Trust ordered a review of BBC activities once all British households have switched to digital in 2012. Commercial rivals of the BBC have complained for some time about the public broadcaster’s dominance online and its expanding digital and radio channels.
Thompson told The Guardian that the delivery of free online news was “utterly non-negotiable. I would rather the BBC was abolished than we started encrypting news to stop people seeing it.”
