BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, has quietly ditched a controversial website set up last year to offer advice and information about the environment.
Insiders claim BBC Green has been shut down because it was likely to be criticised by the BBC Trust, which is conducting a review of Worldwide's activities following criticism from commercial competitors that it is overstepping its remit and distorting the markets in which it operates. The trust is expected to publish its findings next month.
The closure of BBC Green casts doubt on an ambitious plan to launch four similar advertising-funded "portals" covering subjects including parenting, the countryside and sport this year. It is thought they may now be postponed indefinitely, although a spokeswoman for BBC Worldwide insisted they could still go ahead.
The corporation's commercial arm says BBC Green, which was funded by advertising, has been closed for commercial reasons.
"We've stopped publishing on the site," said a spokeswoman for BBC Worldwide. "We are a commercial business and in difficult times we have to look at our portfolio."
She added that BBC Green, described as a "passion site", employed a small team and that most of its members have been redeployed elsewhere in the organisation.
BBC Worldwide owns a family of similar sites including topgear.com, gardenersworld.com and bbcgoodfood.com, which use material generated from its programmes. BBC Green covered a range of environmental issues and was not linked to a specific show. It is thought that BBC executives feared it would be singled out for criticism by the trust.
The BBC Trust chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, hinted last year that Worldwide, which made pre-tax profits of more than £112m last year, could be reined in, saying that trustees were "of the view that [it] needs to be modestly contained".
Rival media organisations argue Worldwide is using the BBC's powerful programmes to proffer a commercial advantage and is effectively preventing rivals from launching similar products and services.
Worldwide argues that it should be free to make money from established programmes, including Top Gear and Strictly Come Dancing, by launching spin-off products or licensing them overseas. That cash is then ploughed back into programme making and effectively supplements the licence fee.
The trust is expected to announce the results of its review in the spring. MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport select committee have been conducting their own inquiry into Worldwide and are expected to publish a report within weeks.
It is also likely to be critical of some of Worldwide's activities, including the acquisition of a 75% stake in travel guide Lonely Planet in October 2007 – a purchase that was approved by the trust. The deal was heavily criticised by competitors, who pointed out that it took Worldwide into a new market that was already well served by other travel guides and websites.
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