You will have noticed that the BBC website features a limited amount of advertising when viewed from outside the UK.

That's the only alteration - the content of the site remains unchanged and continues to feature the same high quality journalism and entertainment that the BBC has always pioneered.

We've introduced advertising to visitors outside of the UK because the new revenue created will allow us to further improve our journalism, our programmes and our website in the years ahead.

Impartiality is of the utmost importance to us at the BBC and for this reason advertising will be clearly separated from editorial content. Advertising will not have any bearing on the news, information or programme content or create the impression of endorsement by the BBC.

We guarantee that you will continue to receive the same high-quality independent content that has made the BBC website one of the most popular news and entertainment sites in the world.

If you would like to know more about the inclusion of advertising on the site, please see our frequently asked questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apart from the inclusion of advertising, will there be any difference between the website that I see and the one that is seen by UK licence fee payers?

No. There are two versions of the website already - one gives prominence to UK news sport and weather, the other has a greater international focus and is aimed at international users. You can switch between these versions at any time. Advertising will be served on both versions when they are viewed from outside the UK.

How will you ensure that only ex-UK users will see advertisements?

The BBC already uses technology that identifies whether users come from outside the UK. This technology recognises the location of the user's computer and only serves adverts to those users who are outside the UK.

How reliable is the technology that does this?

An independent report found that it was 99.96% accurate. However, if you are a UK licence fee payer viewing the website from within the UK but can see advertising, please report this to us.

Why won't users in the UK see any ads?

Users in the UK fund the BBC through the licence fee, which entitles them to view and listen to all of the BBC's television, radio and digital services without advertising. The inclusion of advertising on the website when viewed from outside the UK will create revenues which can be used to develop better content and services for both UK and international users.

Can I pay a subscription to view the site without ads?

We're unable to provide a subscription service at the moment but will be able to do so in the future. As soon as the service is ready we'll communicate it to all our international users.

There are also advertisements before the video clips, is this just for international users too?

We recently upgraded our video on demand service for our users from outside the UK and they may see a short advertisement at the start of the video clip. Our aim is to allow as many people as possible to have access to our broadband-quality content, so rather than charge users to subscribe we decided that an advertising model was the best way to fund the upgrade.

Audiences in the UK already have access to the service in both narrowband and broadband. The service for the UK is funded by licence fee revenue and does not carry any advertising. In addition, audiences from outside the UK wishing to view the video clips without ads will still be able to access the narrowband service, which will continue to be available without advertising.

BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to maximise the value of the BBC's assets for the benefit of the licence payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has six core businesses: Global Channels, Global TV Sales, Magazines, Content & Production, Home Entertainment and Digital Media.