BBC Podcast Advertising Plan Concerns Media Firms—British Government Receives Complaint Letter

By Giuliano De Leon

May 13, 2024 02:06 PM EDT

BBC's podcast advertising plan concerns many big media firms in the United Kingdom. Because of this, they sent a letter to the British government to warn officials regarding their concerns. Here are the latest details.

BBC Podcast Advertising Plan Concerns Media Firms

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer received a letter signed by 20 of Britain's largest media companies. These include commercial radio giants Bauer and Global, broadcasters Sky and ITV, and those co-founded by Gary Lineker.

"The BBC has vast funds to create content for its audiences and is not driven by commercial success, but instead by a mandate to act in the public interest, to inform, educate and entertain," said concerned media firms in the letter, as reported by BBC News.

They said that BBC's plan would be disastrous if it aimed to extract audio advertising funds from the country's nascent podcasting market. Its impact would affect many companies, especially small independent podcast producers.

About BBC's Podcast Advertising Plan

According to Sky News' latest report, BBC Studios already explained what people can expect from its podcast advertising plan during its annual plan.

The British media firm explained that advertisements are regular on third-party platforms. Because of this, the company wants to add advertisements to its podcasts to generate more revenue.

BBC added that the additional income will be used to support its business, rights holders, suppliers, and license fee payers. The media firm promised that it will ensure that its podcast ad plans meet regulatory requirements and that all content will still be ad-free on BBC Sounds.