Principal activity of the Group

The trading activities of BBC Worldwide focus on the acquisition, development, exploitation, licensing and sale of intellectual property rights. Rights are acquired from the BBC and from independent production companies and are exploited through a number of businesses, both wholly owned and partly owned, and across all media formats.

BBC Worldwide is committed to ensuring its commercial activities are carried out to the highest possible standards, consistent with the BBC's core values and purposes, across the full range of fair trading, ethical, editorial, environmental and brand protection best practices.

Importantly, it's not just BBC Worldwide that does this. The company ensures that its commercial partners also do so by way of a range of clear guidelines and policies, reinforced by an extensive training programme in a range of areas for all parts of the BBC Worldwide global network, in particular those which deal with BBC-branded product. Some of the initiatives embedded in the company's processes are as follows:

The BBC brand

Protection of the BBC brand and its reputation is a fundamental part of BBC Worldwide's role in conducting its activities around the globe. These activities are carried out internationally through a blend of licences, joint ventures and other forms of partnership with commercial entities. BBC Worldwide ensures that appropriate steps are taken in each case to ensure the BBC brand is grown and developed in ways that are entirely compatible with core BBC values.

Branding guidelines

BBC Worldwide ensures compliance with guidelines agreed with the BBC that lay out the values and principles associated with the BBC brand and determine the appropriate use of BBC brands in a commercial environment. There are set procedures for commercial use, which reflect the editorial principles associated with the BBC brand.

Editorial guidelines

Previously known as Producers' Guidelines, these incorporate the BBC's code of ethics and offer advice on standards and values including accuracy, impartiality, fairness, taste and decency and the welfare of children. These guidelines apply to all BBC Worldwide commercial activities and are strictly adhered to across all print and audio/visual media published by BBC Worldwide and all those commissioned by BBC Worldwide.

BBC Magazines - Editorial Boards

Editorial Advisory Boards work alongside all BBC magazines and play a key role in ensuring the portfolio reflects the BBC's public purposes and editorial values and extends the editorial offering of BBC programmes. The Editorial Advisory Boards are overseen by an Editorial Review Panel, consisting of external experts, senior representatives from BBC Magazines, BBC Television and BBC Radio and Music, and chaired by the BBC's Chief Adviser Editorial Policy.

The Panel conducted its first review of BBC magazine output during the course of 2005/06 and concluded that BBC magazines were high quality publications with high levels of reader satisfaction. Overall they have strong editorial content, their connectivity with BBC programmes has improved greatly and they have generally met their public service obligations. The review noted that there is a need to forge closer links with BBC radio output and this will be addressed over the coming year.

Brand protection

BBC Worldwide's brand protection team continues to police the market for counterfeit goods and other infringements of the company's and its partners' intellectual property. Action has been taken both in the UK and overseas against a wide range of infringements including counterfeit toys and clothing (where even basic safety standards can be lacking), pirate videos, DVDs, audiobooks and internet sites offering unauthorised downloads and streaming of radio and television content. In 2005/06, over 700,000 counterfeit goods, across a variety of product types, were seized by BBC Worldwide's agents, customs officials or Trading Standards authorities acting on its behalf.

An estimated 65% of all counterfeit products available worldwide are thought to emanate from the Far East - and, as one would expect, BBC Worldwide is particularly active in this region, with an average of three counterfeit seizures being made each week. Equally, in order to stem the flow of this product into other markets, BBC Worldwide has put in place a pan-European Customs registration that allows Customs authorities in all member states to seize imports of fake products using the BBC brand and all major programme brands (such as Teletubbies, Tweenies, Fimbles and Doctor Who).

Ethical policy

BBC Worldwide seeks to conduct its business according to the highest possible standards of ethical practice. The company is actively working to ensure that its suppliers operate on the same principles as those enshrined in BBC Worldwide's Ethical Sourcing Policy, first drawn up and implemented in 1999. BBC Worldwide has an Ethical Trading Policy Board which meets regularly to monitor activity and compliance. Particular attention is paid to high-risk areas such as character licensing and magazine covermounts.

Food Licensing Policy

In 2003, BBC Worldwide decided to review its food licensing policy in light of concerns over child obesity and nutritional balance in children's diets. Since this time, BBC Worldwide has been at the forefront of policy development in this area, working extensively with the Food Standards Agency and introducing a new policy under which BBC Worldwide has committed not to license its children's properties for everyday treat foods like cakes and confectionery; not to promote its properties with fast food companies; to develop with its licensees a range of nutritionally balanced foods; and to lower maximum levels for salt, sugar and fats in line with FSA recommendations. In addition, BBC Children's Magazines will only accept advertisements and commercial promotions that are consistent with the company's food licensing policy. This is a continued area of focus for the company.

Treatment of suppliers

BBC Worldwide is committed to dealing with all suppliers on clear, pre-agreed contractual terms and to paying suppliers (whether large or small) within the agreed payment period. The company seeks to comply with the CBI prompt payment code.

Customer Service

BBC Worldwide's increasing success not only gives a global platform to the best of British talent but also delivers substantial financial returns to rights holders and producers, with BBC Worldwide continuing to deliver record levels of returns to writers, actors, programme producers and other creative talent from a wide range of cross media exploitation.

Hundreds of thousands of statements and cheques are issued annually to this group relating to BBC Worldwide's activities alone. BBC Worldwide is committed to accounting accurately and on time to every contributor and producer. It is continuing to take steps to radically improve its systems and processes to enable these not only to meet the increase in volumes that its success has produced, but also to provide a radically improved level of customer service. This continues to be a priority area of development for the company over the next year with substantial improvements in its delivery to talent and upgrades in the extensive IT network already in implementation and due to go live in 2006. Whilst the delivery of the performance required in this area has taken longer to achieve, due to the complexity of re-engineering substantial processes and IT systems, 2005/06 has been a year where much of the necessary ground-work to deliver future improvements has been undertaken. There is a continuing, Board-level commitment to substantial change in this area over the next year.

The environment

BBC Worldwide recognises its responsibility to safeguard natural resources and takes all possible steps to ensure its activities make minimal detrimental impact on the environment. BBC Worldwide does not operate in industries where there is potential for serious industrial pollution.

BBC Worldwide is a founder member of the WWF Forest Trade Network, and has been a leader in the campaign to promote credible forest certification. It was the first company in the world to publish consumer magazines and books titles on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) labelled paper, providing consumers with a guarantee that the paper is responsibly sourced. Radio Times remains the biggest magazine in the world to be printed on this type of paper.