Thompson Plays Down BBC Mergers And Worldwide Sell Off
Mark Thompson, the BBC’s director general, has played down rumours that the Corporation is planning to sell off its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, and attempted to diffuse speculation of a tie-up between the BBC and Channel 4, stating that a merger could occur between the BBC and any of the UK’s commercial broadcasters.
In an interview with the Independent, Mr Thompson stated: “We are looking at BBC Worldwide with open minds but it is not a foregone conclusion that we are talking about large-scale sell-offs.”
The much anticipated sale of the BBC’s commercial division has attracted attention from numerous broadcasters, venture capital groups and investment banks. It is widely believed that any sale would carry a £1 billion price tag for the business, responsible for selling the BBC’s content around the world, as well as operating its lucrative magazine operations.
However, confusion over the lucrative rights to successful BBC shows and products, such as The Office or Fimbles, has recently been raised and could prove to be a potential deal breaker for those contemplating a bid for the commercial division (see Sale Of BBC Worldwide Raises Issues Over Rights).
On the topic of mergers, which dominated discussions at the recent Edinburgh International Television Festival, the broadcast boss was more ambiguous. While it has been mooted that a tie-up between Channel 4 and the BBC is on the cards, Thompson continued to dismiss the specifics of any merger deal, stating: “I am very much in favour of looking with Channel 4 to see whether there are areas where we can work with each other. But that is true also of the BBC and ITV and all the public service broadcasters.”
The director general also hinted that a radical shake-up of the corporation is on its way, possibly surrounding its multi-channel operations, stating: “Although the BBC had done a pretty good job under John and Greg in getting into the digital world, actually the BBC will have to change more over the next decade than the last decade.”
Last month Channel 4 confirmed its intentions to forge closer links with the BBC in an attempt to strengthen its position in the face of competition from digital channels entering the market (see Channel 4 Confirms Intention To Link With BBC).
However, the broadcaster has also been linked to Five, and is understood to have held merger discussions with Gerhard Zeiler, the chief executive of RTL, which holds the controlling stake in Five (see Five To Link With Rivals For Survival In Digital Age).
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