In an interview with the Financial Times, BBC chief Mark Thompson declares war, “The BBC is the only European brand that could take on Google and AOL.”
The BBC’s online news service is the only non-US name in the list of the world’s top 10 news websites. The Beeb wants to expand its international commercial activities through BBC Worldwide, its commercial arm. It is exploring various acquisitions, such as video-on-demand (VOD) services and expansion of magazine publishing overseas. The division is planning to launch BBC.com, an advertising-supported website accessible outside the UK, by the end of the year. It also plans to introduce a new service, BBC iPlayer, to allow people to catch up on programmes they missed on its main channels.
Rival media groups have become increasingly vocal about their concerns over the revving-up of the BBC’s digital strategy. James MacManus, an executive director of Mr Murdoch’s News International, accused the BBC of “blatantly commercial ambitions” and of seeking “to create a digital empire.” “Our view is that can only damage the development of commercial digital media,” he said. “This is being done with public money. It really is outrageous.”