The BBC has been accused of muscling in on the independent magazine industry, by the chief executive of Dundee-based newspapers and comics company, DC Thomson – according to a news report today.
Says the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday’s financial section, This is Money, DC Thomson’s chief executive, Andrew Thomson is quoted, saying: “The BBC seems to have developed an unfortunate habit of careering into markets where there seems to be no need for it to be and damaging the interests of independent businesses.”
DC Thomson publishes, among other titles, The Beano and The Dandy comics, plus various newspapers, including the Sunday Post. The chief executive is reported to have cited a newly-launched BBC magazine for children, All About Animals, and how it had impacted adversely his company’s Animals and You.
Continues This is Money: “DC Thomson’s comments come as the Dundee-based company, which publishes The Courier newspaper and is buying the Friends Reunited website from ITV, revealed a 52 per cent fall in profits for the year to March 31, 2009 to £32.5 million.”
