BBC puts £10m into digital drive

The BBC is to put up to &£10m into advertising the new digital TV channels and radio stations, approved by culture secretary Tessa Jowell, in order to give them a kick start and to drive digital take-up.

A further tranche of investment is expected to support advertising the BBC’s services when the budgets for the year beginning next April are approved.

Last Friday, Jowell backed BBC plans to launch two children’s channels, a pre-school service and a service for older children, the rebranding of BBC Knowledge as an arts and cultural channel called BBC4, and the launch of five digital radio services.

However, Jowell withheld approval for the rebranding of BBC Choice as a youth channel called BBC3.

BBC director of marketing and communications Andy Duncan says: “The communications task is substantial. There is the task of communicating individual channels, as well as promoting digital take-up generally. If we are going to do the job properly it will take up significant resources.”

Jane Scott, BBC controller of TV strategy and marketing, will be responsible for the marketing of BBC4; Gail Nuttney, head of youth and children’s marketing, will have responsibility for BBC3, the children’s channels and Network X, the black music station; while Gilda Witte, head of marketing for BBC radio and music, will oversee Network Y and Z, the popular music station and speech-based services respectively. It is not clear which BBC roster ad agencies will be responsible for the brands, although Fallon has been working on plans for BBC3.

Duncan is looking at allocating specific genres and channels across the BBC’s business to different roster agencies, which include Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO and Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters (MW June 14).