ITV

Tag: Etienne de Villiers

  • BBC Worldwide FY 08 operating profit up 17 % at £117.7 million

    BBC Worldwide FY 08 operating profit up 17 % at £117.7 million

    MUMBAI:BBC Worldwide’s operating profit rose 17 per cent to £117.7 million (from £100.6 milion in 2007) in the 12-month period ended 31 March 2008.

    During the period, sales has increased from £810.4 million to £916.3 million, a surge of 13 per cent from the year ago period.

    BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith said that the proportion of sales from outside the UK had increased from 46 to 49 per cent of the total.

    Significant profit growth was delivered by BBC Worldwide’s sales, distribution, home entertainment, content and production businesses, with magazines put on circulation in a challenging market.

    Good progress was made in increasing BBC Worldwide’s presence in Australia, India and the US, which have been identified as top priority markets.

    During the financial year, BBC Worldwide also made significant long-term investments in its digital and global brands strategies, launching bbc.com – an advertising-funded internet platform for web-users outside the UK. It has also build the Top Gear brand and acquired a majority stake in Lonely Planet, the renowned travel information publisher.

    Smith says, “BBC Worldwide has achieved another year of double-digit profit growth, while also making significant strategic investments in new businesses to prepare the company for the digital media world.

    “The continued international appeal of our content and formats, coupled with high demand for home entertainment and the strengthening in key markets of our channels and production operations, has enabled the company to report very good results.”

    BBC Worldwide non-executive chairman Etienne de Villiers said, “BBC Worldwide is on track to achieve its five-year growth plan and return a substantial stream of additional funding to its parent, the BBC, for the long term. The company is firing on all cylinders and well placed to deal with the challenges ahead.”

    BBC DG Mark Thompson says, “The figures from BBC Worldwide once again demonstrate its importance to the corporation. It generates profits and dividends that the BBC can reinvest in making outstanding programmes and developing online applications for the benefit of all licence fee payers.

    “Increasingly I believe partnerships, like those we have with Virgin Media, or as in the proposed joint venture Kangaroo, will be critical in delivering future success for BBC Worldwide.”

    In terms of the trading outlook, Smith indicated that profits for the current financial year could be affected by the changing global economic conditions and that the company plans further significant investments in new businesses, such as Kangaroo, the commercial media player currently being developed jointly with ITV and Channel 4, which is subject to approvals.

    He also announced a strategic review to improve the performance of the children’s business and the closure of Audiocall, the telephone services business where payments to charities were wrongly withheld last year.

    “These two issues aside, I remain confident that the company as a whole is in very good shape, and that the investments we have made across our key growth businesses will deliver new, sustainable, growing profits for the BBC,” said Smith.

    In the channel business sales grew by 8.8 per cent to £183.3m, with improvements evenly spread between UK and overseas markets.

    Europe, Middle East and Africa sales and profit growth were driven by UKTV portfolio of channels, while US sales, predominantly from BBC America, continued to grow in US dollar terms.

    Audiences have responded favourably to the newly launched suite of international BBC-branded channels – BBC Entertainment, CBeebies, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and BBC HD – showcasing the best UK content.

    A new schedule and a raft of high-profile UK series such as Torchwood and Top Gear helped double BBC America’s ratings in the key 25-54 age group and add seven million subscribers overall.

    Sales now include commission from BBC World News, the BBC’s commercially funded, 24-hour, global news and information channel. BBC World News’s advertising revenue grew by more than 20 per cent year on year, and full-time distribution grew by eight per cent to 159 million households.

    UKTV, Britain’s second-biggest digital broadcaster, a joint venture with Virgin Media, had a successful year. Its nine channels, which include UKTV Gold and UKTV History, offer a range of programming from across entertainment, drama, lifestyle and factual and reach 20 million unique homes via pay-TV and free-to-air platforms.

    The launch by UKTV of Dave, a new entertainment channel aimed mainly at men in the 16-44 age group, was a particular success. The channel rapidly tripled its audience share, to become the third most popular non-terrestrial entertainment channel for this viewer group.

    BBC Worldwide content and production delivered sales of £68.5 million, up 35.9 per cent on 2006-07, and profits doubled to £14.2 million. Growth came from the US where BBC Worldwide’s Los Angeles production office had a stand-out year, as the popularity of Dancing with the Stars (the international name for Strictly Come Dancing) continued.

    Dancing with the Stars continues to delight audiences around the world. In 2007-08, the series has a re-commission rate of nearly 90 per cent and was seen by audiences in 40 countries.

    BBC Worldwide’s new office in Mumbai secured the commission to make the next Dancing with the Stars season for Sony.

    Progress was made in developing Top Gear as an international TV format. The commission to make a pilot of this long-running UK motoring show for NBC in the US was secured, and SBS in Australia commissioned the Freehand Group to make a full series of Top Gear Australia for autumn 2008.

    In addition to these entertainment formats, progress was made in licensing scripted formats: The office format was sold to UCTV in Chile and Life on Mars format was sold to Antena 3 in Spain.

    The newly created in-house format development team, responsible for devising new formats to appeal to particular markets, developed and sold a new game show, How Much Is Enough?, to the Game Show Network in the US.

    The well established Indie Unit continued to build relationships with the UK independent sector. It signed new distribution and development deals with Red, Tern TV and Oxford Film and TV. The latter will deliver Simon Schama’s latest project on America.

    BBC Worldwide also secured stakes in UK independent production start-ups Left Bank Pictures Ltd and Cliffhanger Productions Ltd.

    The stake BBC Worldwide took in Australian indie The Freehand Group in 2006-07 is starting to reap rewards. As well as the commission to produce Top Gear for SBS in Australia, the new property, Outback Wildlife Rescue, was commissioned and is now selling internationally.

    Content and production now has a production office in New York. It has plans to establish further production capability in Europe and Latin America in 2008-09.

    The feature film Earth, based on the widely acclaimed natural history series Planet Earth, went on theatrical release in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Even before the film reaches US audiences next spring, it has outperformed BBC Worldwide’s previous theatrical natural history release, Deep Blue.

    BBC Worldwide Digital Media division delivered sales of £21.9 million, up 57.6 per cent on the previous year, driven by revenue from syndication of content to partners such as YouTube and Apple iTunes and by the launch of bbc.com.

    Overall, BBC Worldwide saw an increase in online revenues from 1.1 per cent to 2.7 per cent of total sales year on year. This reflected growth from Digital Media businesses as well as magazine websites and video on demand sales, whose profits are reported elsewhere.

    In October 2007 BBC Worldwide gained BBC Trust approval to introduce advertising to the international traffic to bbc.co.uk. The service, known as bbc.com, was launched in November 2007 and is visible only from outside the UK. The revenues will allow BBC Worldwide to invest to make bbc.com the international showcase for the BBC’s key brands.

    An alliance between BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and ITV was formed – with the working title, ‘Kangaroo’ – to develop a new UK on-demand service that will offer over 10,000 hours of TV content on the web. The proposal has been referred to the Competition Commission and is subject to various approvals, including that of the BBC Trust and each broadcaster’s board.

    BBC Worldwide was the first broadcaster in the UK to sell BBC programmes on a download-to-own basis via iTunes, a deal it then repeated in the US. Another deal was struck with Sony Playstation for Top Gear to be downloaded through Gran Turismo TV.

    A new business, Global Brands, was established at year end, with Marcus Arthur, who had been MD of BBC Magazines’ London-based publishing business, appointed MD.

    Going forward, Lonely Planet, the travel information group in which BBC acquired a 75 per cent stake in October 2007, and Top Gear, the media motoring brand, will be managed from within this new business area.

    In a year in which the market for travel guides was up only 1.3 per cent in volume terms, Lonely Planet grew volume by 6.4 per cent, outperforming its competitors in the main publishing and licensing business.

    The year 2008-09 will be a landmark year for Lonely Planet – with the website re-launch, a magazine and a range of new book products in the pipeline.

    BBC Worldwide also set up a joint venture in Australia with ACP to publish a local version of the Top Gear magazine – local versions are already available in a number of countries, including Russia, India and China.

  • Marcus Arthur is BBC Worldwide MD global brands

    Marcus Arthur is BBC Worldwide MD global brands

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has promoted Marcus Arthur to its board, appointing him as MD of global brands.

    Currently BBC Magazines (London) MD Arthur will report directly to BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith. In his new role, which is effective from 31 March, Arthur will continue to lead on the strategy, implementation and development of all BBC Worldwide’s “passion sites,” including radiotimes.com, bbcgoodfood.com and topgear.com.

    He will also assume management responsibility for both the Top Gear brand, one of BBC Worldwide’s most important and fast-growing properties, and Lonely Planet, the leading travel information group which BBC Worldwide acquired in October 2007.

    BBC Worldwide non-executive chairman Etienne de Villiers says, “As BBC Worldwide continues to build its position as a major global media company, it is vital to establish and nurture our key brands across all platforms.

    “Marcus’s appointment to the Board gives two of BBC Worldwide’s success stories a forceful and dynamic champion, paving the way for continued growth and development.”

    Smith says, “Marcus’s strategic insight, ability to cut through complex situations and proven team leadership skills will be invaluable as we build our top brands globally. He has already done a tremendous job leading the roll-out of our passion sites and will, I know, be a huge asset to our board.”

    Arthur says, “This is a wonderful opportunity for me and all the many people committed to delivering on BBC Worldwide’s ambitious growth strategy. In addition to my continued leadership of BBC Worldwide’s passion sites, I look forward to working with Adam Waddell and his team as we underline Top Gear’s position as the world’s leading motoring media brand.

    “I’m also delighted to be steering the Lonely Planet business in the next phase of its growth and working closely with Judy Slatyer, Lonely Planet’s CEO, to identify even more synergies.”

  • BBC Worldwide profits up 24 per cent to £111 million

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK pubcaster the BBC, has published its Annual Review for 2006-07. Profits are up 24 per cent to £111.1 million. It recorded sales of £810.4 million including BBC Worldwide’s share of joint ventures (2005-06: £785.1m).

    The proportion of sales to outside the UK was up by five per cent year on year to 46 per cent. Investment in BBC-commissioned programmes was also up at £96.3 million from £89 million in 2005/06, with total programme investment at £103.6m.

    Highlights of the year include continued strong profits growth, healthy international sales of hit shows and formats around the world, the refreshing of the company’s wholly owned channel portfolio and laying the foundations for strong digital revenue growth.

    BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith says, “BBC Worldwide has achieved a three-fold increase in profits in the last three years. We have exceeded expectations in most of our businesses over the past 12 months, reflecting healthy returns from our new Channels business, strong TV catalogue sales and growing demand internationally for BBC formats. We are now investing to build our digital offering and strengthen our position in markets such as the US, China, India and Australia, creating one of the world’s premier content networks.”

    BBC Worldwide non-executive chairman Etienne de Villiers says, “BBC Worldwide has reached a watershed. It has proven capable of delivering against a demanding business plan with commercial efficiency; it now is poised to grow significantly with new product lines and in exciting markets.”

    BBC DG Mark Thompson says, “BBC Worldwide continues to deliver excellent returns for licence payers from the content they help fund us to make. Its success is increasingly critical to our ability to invest in original creative programming for audiences in the UK, and the company is playing major part in taking those programmes out to the rest of the world.”

    Global Channels recorded sales of £169 million and profit of £20.9 million. 28 channels are available in over 259 million homes around the world, broadcasting in 15 different languages. New BBC-branded channel portfolio was developed. These are BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies and BBC HD.

    BBC Entertainment replaced BBC Prime in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. It launched in India earlier this year together with the pre-school brand, CBeebies.

    Global Channels joined forces with the distribution and ad sales teams from BBC World allowing the teams to present a single face to market for all six BBC-branded channels. UKTV, the joint venture with Virgin Media, had a good year with its Sky carriage deal being renewed, commercial audiences growing by 18 per cent and an ad sales performance above the market average.

    BBC Worldwide recorded global TV sales of £216.4 million and profit of £40.2 million. BBC Worldwide TV sales and content and production revenue broadly accounted for 38 per cent of total UK TV exports last year (compared to 32 per cent the previous year).

    The year’s most successful new titles included Doctor Who, Robin Hood, Torchwood, Life on Mars, 9/11 – The Twin Towers and Planet Earth. The latter was viewed in 95 countries and territories and grossing in excess of £22m in global sales to date.

    Sales to Europe (ex-UK) were up by 23 per cent from £46.5 million to £57.1 million, aided by a country by country analysis of market tastes and tailored sales strategy.

    Sales to the Americas were up by 17.2 per cent but profits were impacted by a high proportion of co-production deals on which BBC Worldwide makes lower margins and the US dollar weakening against sterling.

    In the rest of the world profits were up 26.9 per cent although the strong pound had some impact on results. The BBC’s first ever co-production with China was secured – Wild China with CCTV. In Australia drama was a particularly powerful revenue driver.

    The key event of the year remains BBC Showcase. This, BBC Worldwide says, is the world’s largest trade event hosted by a single distributor. In February 2007, the event boasted 600 hours of new content and attracted over 550 buyers from all over the world. BBC Worldwide’s catalogue now includes 2000 hours of programming available for digital distribution and over 220 hours of High Definition content.

    BBC Worldwide’s FM radio joint venture with Mid Day Multimedia Ltd saw the re-launch of the radio station in Mumbai, plus new stations launching in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore.

    In the Content and Production division sales were £52.9 million. Profit was £9.5 million. Growth was driven by the success of Dancing with the Stars, a hit in over 41 countries. Existing formats continued to deliver, such as Weakest Link in France, Friends Like These and The Generation Game in South Africa, and It Takes Two and Honey We’re Killing the Kids in Australia and New Zealand.

    Just the Two of Us became the first BBC entertainment format to be licensed to a Chinese broadcaster (Hunan TV). In Australia, where it plays as It Takes Two, a second series launched in 2007. The format has also been licensed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, Russia, Croatia and the Ukraine. A joint venture deal was announced with Australian independent producer, the Freehand Group. A worldwide network of local production offices was planned. BBC Worldwide is also developing loveearth.com, a natural history portal to support the launch of Earth the movie in autumn 2007/08.

    Magazines sales were £171.3 million and the profit was £20 million. The firm says that the magazines division performed well in a flat market, growing its circulation revenues and increasing its share of advertising revenues. One in four UK adults reads a BBC title every month. The year’s best-performing magazines were Top Gear, Good Food, Doctor Who Adventures and CBeebies Weekly in terms of circulation growth. Subscriptions across portfolio now up to 650,000. International licences up to 33 across 57 territories.

    Worldwide Media, a JV with the Times of India, secured licence to publish Hello! in India in May. Magazine websites bbcgoodfood.com and radiotimes.com were improved and relaunched. Countryfile magazine will be launched later this year.

    Losses in children magazines (previously a stand-alone business) continued and the business was moved into Home Entertainment where it can benefit from the combined management expertise in publishing and licensing. Sales from merchandising licences grew to almost £9 million (highest level for five years); Doctor Who was the fastest-growing licence in the UK children’s market in 2006.

    Digital media sales were £13.9 million. The division concluded a series of video on demand (VOD), web distribution and mobile deals around the world. New VoD customers included Netflix in the US and Telstra Big Pond in Australia. Investments went into key propositions bbc.com and the commercial media player. Digital Media is now responsible for the delivery of new websites or the re-launches of existing sites across all areas of BBC Worldwide.

    A global content agreement was announced with YouTube in March. Four million videos were viewed on the BBCW channel on YouTube in its first month of operation. New mobile clients included mobile operators TU Media in Asia, Vodafone’s New Zealand network and the 3 network in Ireland. BBC Motion Gallery, which is BBC Worldwide’s TV clip sales business, announced a clip distribution deal with China’s state broadcaster, CCTV.

  • Unilever marketing chief Simon Clift to join BBC Worldwide board

    Unilever marketing chief Simon Clift to join BBC Worldwide board

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC’s commercial arm BBC WOrldwide has announced that Simon Clift, Unilever’s global chief marketing officer has joined its board as a non-executive director.

    His appointment is a further step in BBC Worldwide’s move to ensure both greater transparency in its governance and an even broader range of expertise at senior level.

    BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith said: “Simon’s extensive experience in marketing and in building brands around the world will provide a great resource for BBC Worldwide to draw on as it moves ahead with its current growth strategy.

    “During our strategic review in 2004/5 we identified a need to be more transparent in our governance and reporting in order to ensure clearer understanding of our remit and performance. The introduction of non-executive directors is one of the steps we have taken to achieve this.

    “In addition, these directors – Etienne de Villiers, our non executive Chairman, Jana Bennett (Director of Television, BBC), Nicholas Eldred (General Counsel, BBC), Zarin Patel (Director of Finance, BBC) – and now Simon, will make rich contributions to the development of our international expansion plans.”