BBC rakes in £300,000 from selling magazines that come with plastic toys despite Net Zero pledge
BBC rakes in £300,000 from selling magazines that come with plastic toys despite signing Net Zero pledge
The BBC has come under fire for including plastic toys in its topical magazinesThis is despite the corporation signing up to the revered Net Zero green agenda The BBC earns £300,0000 a year from magazines based on its programmesBut report warns the titles are ‘likely to close’ if the front cover freebies are axed
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The BBC is making hundreds of thousands of pounds from magazines that come with plastic toys despite signing up to the Net Zero green agenda.
Immediate Media, which produces BBC publications including Countryfile, Good Food and CBeebies magazines, has admitted that cover-mounted toys help the Corporation earn an extra £300,000 a year.
A ‘sustainability’ report issued last May disclosed that the BBC receives a 3.5 per cent royalty from every copy of its CBeebies magazines but warns the titles would be ‘likely to close’ if the front cover freebies were axed.
‘Covermounts add value to the magazine package,’ Immediate Media’s report said. ‘Removing covermounts entirely seems to be the least desirable solution for children and to drive sales.’
The report revealed that Immediate Media earn an extra £8.7 million a year from selling such magazines and the BBC would see a 65 per cent reduction in sales if covermounts were removed from the children’s magazines.
Immediate Media, which produces BBC publications, admitted that cover-mounted toys help the Corporation earn an extra £300,000 a year
Immediate Media, which publishes CBeebies magazine, said advertisements with inserts ‘are an important revenue stream for the magazine’
An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has also found that the BBC’s market-leading magazines contain, on average, ten additional pieces of paper that have been inserted into the publication for commercial purposes. Critics warn the frequent use of plastic and the quantity of loose paper inserts has a harmful effect on the environment.
BBC magazines on sale earlier this month had more than 30 added commercial inserts as well as over ten pieces of plastic in the children’s CBeebies’ publications.
BBC’s Countryfile magazine for March included nine pieces of added advertising material while the April edition of Gardeners’ World featured eight additional leaflets and loose pieces of paper.
Urging the BBC to take action, Adam Herriott, from the charity The Waste And Resources Action Programme (WRAP), said: ‘Toys on magazines can be very problematic. Generally, they have a short lifespan, are often made up of multiple non-recyclable plastics and quickly make their way into the bin.
‘Fast-food restaurants such as Burger King and McDonalds have either removed their toy giveaways in children’s meals or offered alternatives such as extra fruit or books, a move that we support and encourage others to follow suit.’
BBC magazines on sale earlier this month had more than 30 added commercial inserts as well as over ten pieces of plastic in the children’s CBeebies’ publications
Waitrose last year said it would no longer sell children’s magazines with plastic disposable toys unless they were educational or reusable craft items, such as colouring pens and pencils, and collectable models.
In January last year, the BBC vowed that it would do ‘everything we can to keep our environmental impact to a minimum’ and pledged to get to Net Zero carbon emissions by 2030.
An Immediate Media spokesperson last night said: ‘Advertisements, including inserts, are an important revenue stream for the magazine and newspaper industry, and with rising production and material costs, help many titles remain commercially viable.
‘Immediate is committed to reducing the impact we have on the environment. We no longer use any non-recyclable materials on our covermounts and have reduced the use of plastics on our cover gifts by over 50 per cent this year so far, and are committed to reducing this to 75 per cent in 2023.’
