It looks like BBC Worldwide is trying to allay fears over its plans for advertising on the BBC’s international websites.
The MediaGuardian reports that the ads will only run on “selected high-traffic genres”, such as news, sports and weather.
These are the crown jewels of the BBC’s online empire. News and sports account for at least half of all the page views to bbc.co.uk. And, of course, these are the most controversial areas for advertising.
Furthermore, BBC Worldwide appears to be downplaying expectations of how much money it expects to make. The MediaGuardian story talks of tens of millions in revenue, as opposed to figures of 100 million pounds annually.
This revised estimate does undermine the argument for ads. Is it worth endangering the BBC’s reputation for such a modest amount? Suddenly the sums don’t add up.
The timing of the story is significant. It comes just ahead of a key meeting of the BBC Trust on Wednesday on the ads plan.
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