BBC will no longer accept sponsorship from commercial bodies for any on-air BBC event
 

In a landmark decision by its Executive, the BBC has reviewed its sponsorship policy and has concluded that it should no longer accept sponsorship from commercial bodies for any on-air BBC event. The review followed complaints from bodies such as ITV and the Radio Centre. From the statement issued by the Corporation's management, it appears that the straw that broke the camel's back was the prominence given to the Britvic brand Robinson's in the transmission of the Sports Personality of the Year programme.

The statement reads: "The BBC Executive will act on the findings of the BBC Trust in relation to Sports Personality Of The Year. "The BBC Executive will submit revised editorial guidelines to the Trust in October and will write to ITV and the Radio Centre as directed by the Trust. "The sponsorship website, which was suspended in March, will not be re-instated. "The complaints made by ITV and the Radio Centre prompted the management to consider the appropriateness of commercial sponsorship of BBC on-air events in relation to changing market conditions. "In the context of today's findings, the management of the BBC has reviewed its sponsorship policy and has concluded that it should no longer accept sponsorship from commercial bodies for any on-air BBC event. "This conclusion will be reflected in our revised guidelines which will be put to the BBC Trust in October for approval.   "Existing arrangements will be honoured within the new guidelines, but they will not be renewed." The new policy applies to licence-fee funded services and the BBC World Service. It appears that the total income which the BBC will forego by ending commercial sponsorship of on-air events is likely to be around £1.5m per annum. The principal events which will be affected are Sports Personality of the Year (Robinsons), Proms In The Park (National Savings & Investments), Radio 3 New Generation Artists Scheme (Aviva) and BBC Four World Cinema Award. Current sponsorship contracts relating to these events will be honoured within the guidelines, say the Corporation, but they will not be renewed. The new policy does not affect the broadcast of non-BBC (third party) events such as the BAFTA Television Awards or MOBO Awards (music awards) which are not staged by the BBC but which the BBC has obtained the right to cover.