This Is Money site reports that Scottish publishing and comics giant DC Thomson has accused the BBC of competing unfairly with independent companies, specifically a BBC magazine about animals, aimed at younger readers, had, according to chief executive Andrew Thomson, taken a chunk out of sales for DCT’s own Animals And You publication. Some may say well that’s the marketplace and free competition, but other will point out the BBC is a public corporation, publicly funded and its potentially unfairly advantaged in resources and shouldn’t be competing with commercial companies in this manner (although again its only fair to wonder why the BBC magazine is taking so many of the DCT title’s sales – the Beeb having better resources or is it simply kids prefer that mag when offered the choice?). DCT aren’t the first to accuse the BBC of unfairly competing with commercial companies, especially outside of its core area of public service broadcasting, with the Murdoch media empire making similar accusations. The article goes on to note that the Dundee based publisher of The Sunday Post, Beano and Dandy among many other titles had a huge drop in profits for the previous year’s figures, down 52 percent, a situation blamed on less advertising revenues, although TIM also notes the family owned business actually slightly increased the dividends they pay themselves.
(Dennis the Menace, presumably off to pay the BBC offices a visit; (c) DC Thomson)
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:43 am
Is this the same BBC that broadcasts Dennis the Menace, based upon a rather well know DC Thomson character and presumably providing plenty of publicity for his weekly adventures? Or maybe it is just another media group jockeying for influence with the incoming government?