BBC Magazines plans world domination Sally Robertson
BBC International Magazines director, Ian Watson, is currently in Australia scouting out publishing partners to bring BBC Magazines to Australian newsstands.
“The long and short of it is that I’m going to meet with everyone who publishes magazines,” Watson said.
BBC Magazines is keen to secure a joint venture partner to co-publish localised versions of some of its 50 UK titles, as well as publishing local magazines in Australia. ACP Magazines has a similar partnership with Hearst.
The desired deal with an Australian publisher is part of a strategic plan to develop the BBC brand globally.
“I’m under no illusions about the Australian magazine market. It’s got some very big players in it and it’s got all the issues we face globally, such as the changing retail environment and the continued pressure on magazine advertising in amongst the growth of digital media,” Watson said.
“These are all issues [BBC Magazines is] very familiar with, and although I wouldn’t for one moment suggest we have any magic solutions, I think there’s a lot of shared experiences we could bring to a joint venture.”
Watson sees significant room for further growth in the Australian magazine market, saying the BBC had a head start over other publishers because it is already an established brand and runs across several media platforms.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe there was room for magazines like Top Gear. I think you just need to think of how you approach the launches from a slightly more creative way, and the BBC has a lot of experience in making this sweat,” he said.
Until two years ago, the focus of BBC Magazines centred on the UK, with one edition of the magazine Top Gear being published in the Middle East. Watson says the BBC now has 28 licences in almost 50 countries, and currently prints 13 different editions of Top Gear, and Watson plans to have 20 different editions of that title printed by year’s end.
Australia is not the only country on the BBC’s “to do” list. “Australia is very important but is not quite the first port of call for BBC Magazines,” Watson said.
BBC Magazines is already a major stakeholder in the largest major consumer publishing business in India, responsible for publishing more than 30 Indian titles, as well as some BBC titles with third-party licences.
Watson said BBC Magazines wants to replicate their Indian business model in Australia, where they have a major stakeholding in a business.
BBC Magazines has an international investment strategy to infiltrate their magazines across the globe, with Australia, South Africa, India and Canada pinpointed as strategically-important publishing ports.
“These countries are strategically important territories, because they are valuable markets from a media perspective. They have high growth and the BBC brand already has a reputation across media channels,” he said.
Although Watson wouldn’t put a figure on the amount of money the BBC hopes to invest in Australia, he said it would be suffice to say the BBC wouldn’t be embarking on an international investing strategy if they didn’t have access to funding to invest in companies and to launch magazines.
