BBC scraps podcast adverts after Gary Lineker complains it would harm his business

The BBC has scrapped plans to run advertisements on its radio and podcasts after Gary Lineker warned it would harm his business.
The corporation had outlined proposals to place advertisements around some of its programming in the UK when streamed on platforms such as Apple and Spotify.
But the plans have been shelved after rivals including Goalhanger, the podcast company run by Mr Lineker, warned of a 'disastrous' impact on the market.
A BBC spokesman said: 'We have listened to feedback and having considered the options carefully, we have decided to rule out placing adverts around BBC licence-fee funded programmes on third-party podcast platforms in the UK.
'We will continue to support the audio sector and the wider market, investing in the best ideas and developing production capabilities across the UK.'
The BBC had been considering introducing advertising to programmes such as The Archers, Desert Island Discs and In Our Time in an effort to boost revenues.
Tim Davie, the BBC's director general, is trying to expand income from the BBC's commercial division as he grapples with a squeeze on licence fee funding and a £500m black hole in the broadcaster's finances.
However, insiders said the BBC was dropping the advertisement plans as they recognised the strength of feeling among rivals. The decision is expected to be confirmed in the BBC annual plan due to be published early next week.
Mr Lineker's Goalhanger, which produces shows including The Rest is Politics and The Rest is History, was one of 20 media companies to hit out at the proposals, arguing that the BBC would cannibalise advertising revenues and crowd out smaller players.
Goalhanger, which was founded by the former England footballer in 2022, claims to be the UK's largest independent podcast group with its shows downloaded over 400m times worldwide last year. The Match of the Day presenter also remains the BBC's highest-paid star.
In a letter last summer to Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary at the time, the media companies wrote: 'The impact of it extracting audio advertising funds from the nascent UK podcasting market would be disastrous, especially for the numerous small independent podcast producers.'
The News Media Association, which represents local and national publishers, branded the plans 'catastrophic'.
Critics warned against allowing the BBC, which is funded by the licence fee, to muscle into the nascent podcasting market. Podcast advertising generated revenues of £76m in 2022, compared to the BBC's total income of £5.7bn.
Andy Carter, the former Conservative MP, also warned about the impact on consumers, saying those who did not use BBC Sounds would 'in effect be paying twice'.
It comes after the BBC announced a shake-up to its Sounds streaming platform that will see expats cut off from scores of radio stations and podcasts.
The BBC said it was developing ways of increasing commercial revenues internationally while growing Sounds in the UK through initiatives such as releasing podcasts first on its own platform before releasing them to third parties such as Apple and Spotify.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Times

27 minutes ago

• Times

‘Glastonbury festival is like Wimbledon — even my dad watches it'

The Glastonbury festival has become as big as Wimbledon and the World Cup on TV, the head of the BBC's coverage has Rothery, who is the BBC's head of popular music for television, said the festival will be getting more coverage on BBC1 than ever this year, as all generations show increased interest in watching extended coverage of the musical acts at Worthy iPlayer viewers will be able to stream continuous coverage of the five main stages at the festival from midday until past midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 'It's a beast,' Rothery said of the festival. 'The interest in Glastonbury has extended over time, with people wanting more [coverage] leading into the festival and more after it. 'It's almost becoming a Glastonbury season now, more akin to a sporting event like Wimbledon or a World Cup. 'Linear TV is still the main go-to for our broad audience. The numbers continue to be really strong, which I think is partly to do with Glastonbury becoming our sort of Wimbledon of music.' Rothery said he puts the increasing interest down to an evolution in the festival's appeal. 'It's gone from the 1990s, when it was a brilliant festival but had a very specific demographic, to now being a very broad church, reflective of everybody,' he said. 'It's multigenerational. Even my dad watches it and he wasn't aware of it ten years ago.' This year BBC1 is scheduling more coverage of Glastonbury than ever before, Rothery said. 'We are also pushing longer sections of sets and even full sets on linear TV, whereas we used to be more highlights and bitesize bits of sets.'That is a big shift. There is a confidence that we can put a full set out and it will sustain a good audience.' Rothery said in recent years they had been getting 'millions' watching the live streams of the five main stages on each day of the festival. He said ways of reaching a younger demographic — which all broadcasters are chasing as they compete against the likes of YouTube and TikTok — have changed now that younger people consume music differently through sites such as Spotify, where the whole history of popular music sits in one place. 'In the old days, to reach a young audience we would normally want to put a young pop star on a stage to reach that demographic,' he said. 'That has totally changed. My 15-year-old daughter is a massive Billy Joel fan and loves The Clash. Audiences don't know or care how long these songs have been around, they are just great songs. 'Elton John [in 2023] gave us a massive young audience share and one of the youngest of the festival.' Deploying a drone shot at Glastonbury to show the audience the full scale of the record crowd for Elton's closing headline slot, the final show of his touring career, was a highlight for Rothery. Asked what makes a great Glastonbury festival TV moment, he said: 'Some of it is pre-planned, like having the surprise sets that the festival organises, to create those moments of excitement and intrigue, and sometimes it might just be great timing of an act being on. 'I have vivid memories of LCD Soundsystem playing All My Friends and seeing the sun setting, that was a special moment that only Glastonbury can do. 'Jay Z doing Wonderwall was a huge moment, or when Dave [the grime artist] got the guy out of the audience to do a rap, the audience had no expectation of that. 'Sometimes it's the audience's appreciation of the artist. When Dolly Parton did the legends slot, her reaction to seeing the audience know every word to Jolene, in cowboy hats, took her by such surprise and made it really special. 'When Brian Wilson did it, there were surfboards in the audience. It's the lengths Glastonbury people go to show their appreciation. 'It's a magic combo of things that cannot always be pre-planned.'

Daily Mirror

3 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

Antiques Road Trip star details family struggle as he says 'I've found it hard'

Antiques Road Trip expert Philip Serell has been open about his family life, including his daughter's battle with anorexia Antiques Road Trip's Philip Serrell has candidly discussed his daughter's harrowing journey through anorexia. The stalwart of the BBC show is wed to Briony and shares a close bond with their daughter Clementine. ‌ Philip has not shied away from detailing his difficulty in coming to terms with his daughter's illness. Now recovered, Clementine is eager to support those who face similar battles. ‌ "As a dad, it's been very difficult, I've found it very hard to understand. I've spent 62 years enjoying eating and it's very hard not to say, 'Just eat, it's easy',' he frankly told MailOnline back in 2016. He added: 'But Clementine has come through this on her own and I know she'd love to help others who are in a similar situation. " Christmas is a very difficult time of year because people suffering with anorexia get booze and food shoved at them - and that's very hard to deal with." In a heartwarming show of progress, Clementine revealed her strides in recovery in 2020, posting side-by-side photos from the peak of her condition and now, reports the Express. "Never think you can't escape," she encouraged in the image caption, while opening up about the additional challenges of battling bulimia and anorexia. ‌ Clementine delved into how her deteriorating romantic relationship might have unleashed a crisis within, leading to a life that seemed alien to her. In 2011, the fitness coach succumbed to bulimia, confessing that she vomited "about eight times" on New Year's Eve and woke up the next morning drowning in "shame and utter self loathing". ‌ The year following marked the onset of anorexia for expressed: "That was the worst year, and Christmas, ever. It was just pure hell, with no escape. I was TOTALLY consumed by the eating disorder, addicted to it, addicted to counting calories and 'burning off' what I could. "I weighed EVERYTHING. I counted the calories in EVERYTHING. I hated what I'd become but I was petrified of giving up that addiction." ‌ She detailed her grueling journey towards recovery, stating: "After a long, and at times sooooo painfully slow, recovery I'm here, where I am now... I will always talk about eating disorders, and I'll always be honest. I don't post things like this for any praise or anything like that but to show others that you can get your life back." Clementine stated emphatically: "I will always talk about eating disorders, and I'll always be honest. I don't post things like this for any praise or anything like that but to show others that you can get your life back. And also because I genuinely believe EDs are still very misunderstood and that kills me a bit. "This is a hard time to go through, especially if you have an eating disorder but know that there can be life on the other side. And know that you really are strong enough to get there." Antiques Road Trip is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Daily Mirror

3 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

Rylan Clark says 'they won't listen' as he questions 'decision' by BBC bosses

Rylan Clark has presented his BBC Radio 2 show since 2019 when he replaced Zoe Ball, but he says he has pitched another idea to bosses at the radio station Rylan Clark says BBC bosses 'won't listen' as he questioned a 'decision' made by the broadcaster. The 36-year-old has been presenting his Saturday afternoon slot on BBC Radio 2 since 2019. He replaced presenter Zoe Ball when she moved to the station's coveted breakfast slot. Zoe, 54, has however since left the show and been replaced by Scott Mills. Rylan however continues to broadcast to the nation as well as fronting a series of podcasts for the BBC. ‌ He however hinted that he believes he would be perfect for another role at the station. Although he joked that his pleas to BBC bosses had so far fallen on deaf ears. ‌ He made the revelation as he flashed his geography skills at the weekend. During the bulletin, traffic presenter Sally Boazman asked: 'The A13 Stanford-Le-Hope bypass, eastbound, is partly blocked between Stanford-le-Hope and a place called Fobbing, does that exist? Is there a place called Fobbing?' 'Yeah, it's basically the Basildon turn-off,' responded Essex boy Rylan. He added: 'It's a little village on the outskirts of Corringham.' Sally responded: 'You should do the traffic really, shouldn't you?' To which Rylan joked: 'I should. I've been saying this for years but they won't listen.' Before working in radio, Rylan rose to fame when he appeared on the X Factor in 2012. He was eliminated in the quarter final as James Arthur went on to win the competition. Just weeks later however, Rylan was whisked away to the Celebrity Big Brother house. He won over the nation and was crowned the winner, ahead of reality stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag. ‌ He later went on to work as a reporter on This Morning as well as presenting Big Brother's Bit on the Side. Since 2018 he has commentated on the semi-finals of Eurovision alongside fellow Radio 2 star Scott. Earlier this year Rylan won a BAFTA for his documentary Rob and Rylan's Grand Tour, which saw him travelling around Italy with Rob Rinder. Rylan described the show as 'two gay guys, going through a divorce' after he split from ex-husband Dan Neal in 2021, and Rob split from his own husband in 2018. ‌ Speaking to the Mirror and other press, Rylan said: "The show, it happened at a really weird time for me. I wasn't fully over some of the breakdown of my marriage and stuff like that. I was flung with a judge. It was the best therapy I needed. "The journey, and I hate that word in telly, from when we meet and how raw I was at that time. It was like being an adolescent again and starting again but with cameras there. 'Everyone who worked on the show made it look exactly how it was. They didn't try to make it look good.' The pair will return with a follow-up series, Rob and Rylan's Passage to India, which is set for release in autumn.