BBC Trust Could Decide On Website Ads Proposal Next Month

The BBC Trust is expected to decide on controversial proposals to put ads on its international website BBC.com at its meeting next month, following Michael Lyons’ official start date at the corporation on May 1.

BBC management is proposing that the site should carry adverts for users outside the UK in an attempt to find alternative revenue sources for content paid for by UK licence fee payers.

Hundreds of BBC Staff, together with a group of MPs, wrote a letter to the BBC Trust in February urging it to reject proposed advertising on BBC.com (see MPs And Staff Say No To BBC Web Ads).

Staff expressed concerns that adverts on BBC.com would undermine the corporation’s editorial integrity and pave the way for further commercialisation of BBC services.

Sources inside the BBC said the BBC.com advertising plan was likely to be approved, according to reports.

When the trust considered the proposals in February, management were asked to give more information on how the revenues would be fed back into the corporation’s global news division. The Trust originally deferred the decision (see BBC Trust Defers Online Ad Decision).

Sir Michael Lyons, a former market trader and council chief executive, was earlier this month named as the new BBC chairman (see Lyons Confirmed As New BBC Chairman), replacing Michael Grade who left for ITV late last year (see BBC Chairman Jumps Ship To ITV Top Job).

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