These records consist of papers relating to the commercial subsidiaries of the BBC, which are responsible for the exploitation of BBC programmes, assets and brands throughout the world (as a supplement to income received through the license fee).
The majority of the material relates to the single subsidiary company wholly owned by the BBC, formed in 1979 as BBC Enterprises Ltd. and reorganised as BBC Worldwide Ltd. from 1995 to 2018. In 2018 BBC Worldwide merged with the BBC’s production company, BBC Studios, making BBC Studios Ltd. the single commercial arm of the BBC.
Other former commercial ventures from the BBC are also included, which existed either as separate brands or a sub-brand of the subsidiary company. These include BBC Books, BBC Records, BBC Cassettes and BBC Video.