Functionality and content drive BBC revenues

Added functionality and content on the BBC website will drive up revenues and allow the broadcasting cooperation to achieve much higher revenue through the portal than originally anticipated.

This is according to the BBC Worldwide chief executive John Smith who said the BBC's initial targets of generating ten per cent of its revenue from the internet were below the full potential.

He told attendees at a media conference in London that website revenue had already increased from one per cent of the total to four per cent in just 18 months, reports Reuters.

"So already we are starting to see that probably we have under-egged the extent to which we will see more of our revenues coming from the internet," he added.

Upping user-generated content would be a key factor for the BBC website and any other new media portal looking to develop in the future.

Mr Smith continued: "We intend to use the profits that come from that [growing international audience] to significantly invest in the site and have an enormous amount more functionality and content on there and promote it."

The international BBC website is a crucial facet in upping BBC revenue as it is able to carry advertisements.