The Office of Fair Trading confirmed that it is examining the role of BBC Worldwide in the marketplace with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport – a discussion that could lead to a referral to the Competition Commission or sanctions imposed.
The large unit contained with the corporation has been criticised for a number of its activities in the past, mainly for its ability to cross-promote within existing BBC services and for overstepping its public service responsibility by behaving like a commercial company.
Last week the division unveiled a massive doubling of profits to £55m during the last 12 months.
Since new director general Mark Thompson took over the reins, the BBC turned back on a what appeared to be moves to sell off the Worldwide business, promising instead to scale back activities and offload non-core assets, such as Eve magazine.
By Kevin May
BBC Worldwide under threat for uncompetitive activities
BBC Worldwide – often the bugbear of the commercial end of the media world – could be the subject of an investigation by competition watchdogs.
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