Record Profits for BBC Worldwide

LONDON, June 28: BBC Worldwide has delivered a record profit
of £111.1 million ($222.4 million) for the year that ended March 31, 2007, on
revenues of £810.4 million ($1.6 billion).

In addition, investment in BBC-commissioned programs was up,
to £96.3 million ($192.8 million), out of a total program investment of £103.6
million ($207.4 million). The proportion of sales outside of the U.K. rose 5
percent to 46 percent.

At the Global Channels division, which reaches 259 million
homes worldwide, revenues rose to £169 million, while profit tripled to £20.9
million. For Global TV Sales, profit rose 19.3 percent to £40.2 million, on
revenues of £216.4 million. 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 being viewed in 95 countries and
territories and grossing in excess of £22 million in global sales to date. Sales
to Europe (excluding the U.K.) were up by 23 percent to £57.1 million. Sales to
the Americas were up by 17.2 percent but profits fell from £3.1 million to £2.9
million. In the rest of the world, profits were up to £8.5 million, on revenues
of £25.9 million. Content & Production increased its revenues to £52.9
million, compared to £36.1 million in the previous year, and almost tripled
profit to £9.5 million. Growth was driven by the success of Dancing
with the Stars, a hit in over 41 countries.

TV Sales and Content & Production revenues accounted for
38 percent of total U.K. TV exports last year, compared to 32 percent in the
previous year.

“BBC Worldwide has achieved a three-fold increase in profits
in the last three years,” said John Smith, the chief executive of BBC
Worldwide. “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 U.S., China, India and Australia, creating one of the
world’s premier content networks.”

Etienne de Villiers, the non-executive chairman of BBC
Worldwide, added: “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.”

Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, noted: "BBC
Worldwide continues to deliver excellent returns for license 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 U.K.,
and the company is playing major part in taking those programs out to the rest
of the world."