BBC

==Commercial activities==
{{Main|BBC Studios}}

[[File:BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 - geograph.org.uk - 686894.jpg|thumb|[[BBC Studios]] is headquartered at [[Television Centre, London|Television Centre]] (BBC Television's former headquarters) in west London.]]
BBC Studios (formerly [[BBC Worldwide]]) is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, responsible for the commercial exploitation of BBC programmes and other properties, including a number of television stations throughout the world. It was formed following the restructuring of its predecessor, BBC Enterprises, in 1995. Prior to this, the selling of BBC television programmes was at first handled in 1958 with the establishment of a business manager post.<ref name="BBC 70 years book"/> This gradually expanded until the establishment of the Television Promotions (later renamed Television Enterprises) department in 1960 under a general manager.<ref name="BBC 70 years book">{{cite book|last=Cain|first=John|title=The BBC: 70 years of broadcasting|year=1992|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|location=London|isbn=0-563-36750-4|pages=116–119}}</ref>

The company owns and administers a number of commercial stations around the world operating in a number of territories and on a number of different platforms. The channel [[BBC Entertainment]] shows current and archive entertainment programming to viewers in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with the BBC Studios channels [[BBC America]] (Joint venture with [[AMC Networks]]) and [[BBC Canada]] (Joint venture with [[Corus Entertainment]]) showing similar programming in the North America region and [[BBC UKTV]] in the Australasia region. The company also airs two channels aimed at children, an international [[CBeebies]] channel and [[BBC Kids]], a joint venture with [[Knowledge Network|Knowledge Network Corporation]], which airs programmes under the CBeebies and BBC K brands. The company also runs the channels [[BBC Knowledge (international)|BBC Knowledge]], broadcasting factual and learning programmes, and [[BBC Lifestyle]], broadcasting programmes based on themes of Food, Style and Wellbeing. In addition to this, BBC Studios runs an international version of the channel [[BBC HD Scandinavia|BBC HD]], and provides HD simulcasts of the channels BBC Knowledge and BBC America.

[[File:Makosi Musambasi.jpg|thumb|left|The BBC's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the broadcaster's biggest bureau outside of the UK.<ref>{{cite news |title=BBC's biggest bureau outside the UK is in Africa – Nairobi, Kenya |url=https://www.africanews.com/2018/11/06/bbc-s-biggest-bureau-outside-the-uk-is-in-africa-nairobi-kenya// |access-date=24 May 2023 |work=African News |archive-date=24 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524135407/https://www.africanews.com/2018/11/06/bbc-s-biggest-bureau-outside-the-uk-is-in-africa-nairobi-kenya// |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
BBC Studios also distributes the 24-hour international news channel [[BBC World News]]. The station is separate from BBC Studios to maintain the station's neutral point of view, but is distributed by BBC Studios. The channel itself is the oldest surviving entity of its kind, and has 50 foreign news bureaus and correspondents in nearly all countries in the world.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|last1=Henery|first1=Michelle|title=Why Do We See What We See: A comparison of CNN International, BBC World News and Al Jazeera English, analysing the respective drivers influencing editorial content|url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Why%20do%20we%20see%20what%20we%20see%20A%20comparison%20of%20CNN%20International,%20BBC%20World%20News%20and%20Al%20Jazeera%20English%20analysing%20the%20respective%20drivers%20influencing%20editorial%20cont.pdf|website=reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk|publisher=Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford, 2010|access-date=15 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920130100/https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Why%20do%20we%20see%20what%20we%20see%20A%20comparison%20of%20CNN%20International,%20BBC%20World%20News%20and%20Al%20Jazeera%20English%20analysing%20the%20respective%20drivers%20influencing%20editorial%20cont.pdf|archive-date=20 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> As officially surveyed, it is available to more than 294&nbsp;million households, significantly more than [[CNN]]'s estimated 200&nbsp;million.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
In addition to these international channels, BBC Studios also owns the [[UKTV]] network of seven channels. These channels contain BBC archive programming to be rebroadcast on their respective channels: [[Alibi (TV channel)|Alibi]], crime dramas; [[Dave (TV channel)|Dave]] (slogan: "The Home of Witty Banter"); [[Drama (British TV channel)|Drama]], drama, launched in 2013; [[Eden (British TV channel)|Eden]], nature; [[Gold (UK TV channel)|Gold]], comedy; [[W (UK TV channel)|W]], Entertainment; and [[Yesterday (TV channel)|Yesterday]], history programming.

In addition to these channels, many BBC programmes are sold via BBC Studios to foreign television stations with comedy, documentaries, crime dramas (such as ''[[Luther (TV series)|Luther]]'' and ''[[Peaky Blinders (TV series)|Peaky Blinders]]'') and [[Costume drama|historical drama]] productions being the most popular. The BBC's most successful reality television show format, ''[[Strictly Come Dancing]]''—under the title ''Dancing with the Stars''—has been exported to 60 other countries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Strictly Come Dancing: the worldwide phenomenon |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/strictly-come-dancing/8938893/Strictly-Come-Dancing-the-worldwide-phenomenon.html |access-date=25 August 2022 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327203918/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/strictly-come-dancing/8938893/Strictly-Come-Dancing-the-worldwide-phenomenon.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://advertising.bbcworldwide.com/home/advertisewithus/entertainment/dancingwiththestars |title=Dancing with the Stars advertising opportunities |publisher=Advertising.bbcworldwide.com |access-date=20 September 2012 |archive-date=15 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915120119/http://advertising.bbcworldwide.com/home/advertisewithus/entertainment/dancingwiththestars |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, BBC television news appears nightly on many [[Public Broadcasting Service]] stations in the United States, as do reruns of BBC programmes such as ''[[EastEnders]]'', and in New Zealand on [[TVNZ 1]].

[[File:Radio Times - 1931-12-18 - front cover.png|thumb|upright|The 1931 Christmas issue of the ''[[Radio Times]]'', a weekly listings magazine, first published by the BBC, devoted to UK television and radio programme schedules.]]
In addition to programming, BBC Studios produces material to accompany programmes. The company maintained the publishing arm of the BBC, [[BBC Magazines]], which published the ''[[Radio Times]]''; first published by the BBC on 28 September 1923, it is the world's first broadcast listings magazine.<ref>{{cite book |first=Tony |last=Currie |title=The Radio Times Story |publisher=Kelly Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=978-1903053096 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/radiotimesstory0000curr }}</ref> The magazine covers all British television and radio programming schedules. The 1988 Christmas edition of the ''Radio Times'' sold 11,220,666 copies, which the ''[[Guinness Book of Records]]'' certified as the biggest-selling edition of any British magazine in history.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Radio Times |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/research/radio-times |access-date=19 October 2023 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809072454/https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/research/radio-times |url-status=live }}</ref> Other magazines that support BBC programming include ''[[Top Gear (magazine)|BBC Top Gear]]'', ''[[BBC Good Food]]'', ''[[The Sky at Night|BBC Sky at Night]]'', ''[[BBC History]]'', ''[[BBC Wildlife]]'' and ''[[BBC Music Magazine|BBC Music]]''. BBC Magazines was sold to Exponent Private Equity in 2011, which merged it with Origin Publishing (previously owned by BBC Worldwide between 2004 and 2006) to form [[Immediate Media Company]].

BBC Studios also publishes books, to accompany programmes such as ''[[Doctor Who]]'' under the [[BBC Books]] brand, a publishing imprint majority owned by [[Random House]]. Soundtrack albums, talking books and sections of radio broadcasts are also sold under the brand [[BBC Records]], with DVDs also being sold and licensed in large quantities to consumers both in the UK and abroad under the [[2 Entertain]] brand. Archive programming and classical music recordings are sold under the brand BBC Legends.