BBC’s commercial arm to relaunch international news website

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The BBC’s main commercial arm will relaunch its ad-supported international news website ahead of next year’s US presidential election and expand its TV production output through acquisitions in a bid to significantly boost revenue by 2028.

BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell said the new-look website and app will be rolled out in North America before being rolled out to the rest of the world.

He told the Financial Times that the relaunched site would be more attractive to media buyers because it would allow for more “localized and personalized” content in the United States. “This will be a great product for advertisers. It’s a premium brand,” he added.

He said the BBC was also recruiting more journalists ahead of the election because the organization was seen as an impartial source in the United States and “we could gain significant market share”. BBC Studios gained commercial control of the BBC.com international news website in 2021, but editorial control remains with BBC News.

BBC Studios also manages the broadcaster’s other commercial operations, including productions such as doctor who and UKTV, which is responsible for channels such as Dave and Gold.

It is becoming an increasingly important part of broadcasters’ income as the government freezes the license fee paid by UK households – which accounts for nearly three-quarters of broadcasters’ funding.

BBC Studios generated revenue of £2.1bn in 2022/23 and delivered a record return of £362m to the public sector broadcaster. By comparison, licensing fees generated £3.8 billion in revenue. Fussell aims to double revenue by 2028.

He plans to expand the television production unit organically through acquisitions. “We acquire companies at the right price and with the right culture,” he said. He warned returns could be lower next year due to investment plans.

More than a third of BBC Studios production is produced for other broadcasters, making it the UK’s largest exporter of television content.It is also the UK’s largest producer of BBC programmes, e.g. Strictly Come Dancingwhich also sells rights internationally.

Fussell said the entire TV production industry is under pressure due to rising costs and slowing demand from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, which have reined in spending.

He said this meant there would be an impact on overall demand for TV content, but expected the BBC should be protected. “Low-risk, high-quality BBC content attracts subscribers. We are lucky because we produce high-quality content.”