BBC Worldwide is the commercial arm of the BBC and is Europe's largest TV distributor, writes Salamander Davoudi. Two thousand staff work for the organisation, selling programmes and products meant to uphold "the intrinsic qualities" of the BBC brand.
Global sales of BBC hits such as Dr Who, Planet Earth, Teletubbies and Life on Mars are central to its income generation. Between 2007 and 2008, BBC Worldwide had sales of £916m and profits of £117m. It is also the third-largest consumer magazine publisher, selling 93m magazines annually in the UK.
Its portfolio of 29 channel brands includes BBC America, BBC World News and BBC Lifestyle, broadcast to 285m homes globally in 15 languages. Worldwide often provides extra budget for productions in return for commercial rights. Profits are ploughed back into the BBC. Last year the company bought a 75 per cent stake in Lonely Planet, a travel guide company, for about £90m.
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