Thompson said: "In the future, Worldwide will focus in particular on international, as opposed to UK, business development, on evolution rather than merger and acquisition, and over time will move away from exploitation in physical media like magazines."
His comments were made on the same day the BBC executive published a strategic review into the future of the BBC and proposed to cut the digital stations 6 Music and Asian Network, and slash the online budget by a quarter.
BBC Worldwide was not included in the review, but the division is currently conducting its own review process which is expected to be completed within the next four to six weeks.
Today, the BBC's internal newspaper Ariel appeared to pave the way for a sale of BBC Magazines, announcing the corporation could still retain the "editorial heart" of the magazines if they were disposed of.
Ariel also confirmed BBC Worldwide intends to make "no more acquisitions like Lonely Planet", which has been heavily criticised by commercial competitors such as Time Out's Tony Elliot.
Absolute Radio has suggested it would be willing to run BBC 6 Music as a public-private partnership along the lines of UKTV, which is a joint venture between the BBC and Virgin Media Television. Brands cannot be sold with the word 'BBC' in them.
Clive Dickens, chief operating officer at Absolute Radio, said: "If the BBC believes there isn't the resource to allow it to flourish within the BBC it should look to the private sector."
A BBC spokesman said: "We have been clear in saying that we would want to keep the best of 6 Music, including its most distinctive and valuable programmes, and consider how the range of music played on Radio 1 and Radio 2 should adjust to focus on originality and distinctiveness.
"The proposals are now with the BBC Trust for consultation so it would be wrong to speculate on any future decisions."
Elsewhere, ITV's new chairman Archie Norman has said he doesn't see "any benefits" for ITV in the Strategic Review.
When asked about the BBC review during ITV's financial results today, Norman said: "Any savings from the cuts are going to be reinvested in programming so it is difficult to see why ITV would benefit."
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