BBC 'internet' ads could make £105 million

Controversial plans for the BBC to rake in additional revenue from advertising moved a step closer, after a report claimed the corporation could make £105 million revenue if it were to introduce advertising on its international internet service.

The findings were released as the BBC was deciding whether to introduce advertising on the international versions of its homepage and news website.

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Dependent on how aggressively the advertising is placed, the report is thought to have stated that five years after launch "option one" could bring in up to £105m per year, "option two" would net the corporation around £64m, and a "lite" version would make around £48m annually.

It is thought that BBC executives have focused on the idea of the "lite" advertising version, targeting revenue in the "low tens of millions".

A number of key management meetings shaping the editorial and advertising on the proposed bbc.com website are lined up between now and the end of year.

However, any move to sell advertising by the BBC is likely to spark fierce opposition by commercial rivals who feel that money from the licence fee and back-up from the corporation's existing unparallelled news-gathering and entertainment operations already give the site a massive advantage.

In addition, concerned BBC News staff have announced that they are set to "make more noise" and "up the tempo"in the coming months to make sure their issues are addressed.

A BBC statement said: "We are aware that there are staff who have concerns about this project and these concerns have formed part of the BBC's overall evaluation of the proposal."