“Britain has a unique asset in BBC Worldwide”
The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, in a column for MediaGuardian.co.uk has today reacted strongly to the government’s decision to include BBC Worldwide in a potential sale of BBC assets.
Thompson warned that a Worldwide without the BBC brand put it in danger of becoming “an empty vessel” with a huge fall in its inherent value, and “makes no strategic or commercial sense”.
The outstanding international success of many BBC shows, including In The Night Garden, Top Gear and the international version of Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing With the Stars, was attributed by Thompson to the activities of Worldwide. It is the largest sales and distribution house outside the Hollywood majors.
In order to continue with this kind of success, Thompson suggested:
“We should recognise that, in BBC Worldwide, not just the BBC, Britain has a unique asset. The right question to ask is neither how to chop it back, nor how to separate it from the creative well spring in which its success depends, but how best to develop and exploit it – to the delight of global audiences and the benefit of the whole UK.”