Originally, the BBC had argued that Ofcom, which will combine all the media watchdogs under one umbrella, should not be able to fine it because it did not need further regulation and fines would punish licence-fee payers.
Now culture secretary Tessa Jowell has said that the BBC should face the same regulations as other public service broadcasters.
She said: "This makes it absolutely clear that there's no question of the BBC somehow being subject to lesser standards of regulation than the other public service broadcasters."
The BBC could be fined as much as £250,000, which would be paid to the Treasury. It could be fined for either breaching regulations on taste and decency or for not meeting quotas on independent and regional productions.
The move will please the other terrestrial networks, as well as MPs and advertising industry groups, who had argued that the corporation should be subject to the same regulation from Ofcom as other broadcasters.
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