Beeb Rings The Changes

Global news website BBC.com is to include advertising on its pages for the first time.

The corporation recently announced that adverts will feature on its web pages when accessed by users from outside the UK.

BBC Worldwide asserted that the commercial revenue generated from online advertising would contribute towards its future budget shortfall.

“Introducing advertising on international traffic to news pages is a natural development in the growth of the BBC's commercial news services,” commented Richard Sambrook, director of global news at the corporation.

According to sources cited in the Guardian, the commercial arm of Worldwide will pay an income to the Beeb’s public service broadcasting unit and will compensate for the loss of £4 million that the global website receives from the government as grant-in-aid.

This has been a busy time for the BBC after director general Mark Thompson held a meeting last week to outline its long-term strategy in the wake of a lower than expected licence fee deal.

Among the proposed changes are integrated newsrooms which merge TV, radio and internet operations, a multimedia news show for Radio 1 and increased on-demand news services.

However, the enhanced efficiency strategy also incorporates cutting between 120 and 130 jobs from the BBC’s Future Media and Technology division.

Further details on the advertising story can be viewed here while information on the organisation’s six-year plan can be found at BBC News.