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Lonely Planet hires CTO from within in first leadership move in post-BBC world
DigitalIn March the BBC sold Lonely Planet to NC2 Media, a young Nashville-based digital media company backed by billionaire Brad Kelley. Since the sale it’s been relatively quiet in Melbourne, Oakland, and London — with the exception of the BBC representatives moving out and CEO Matt Goldberg stepping down. And LP’s first leadership change post-sale [...]
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Twitter agrees: BBC screwed up its Lonely Planet business
DigitalToday Twitter shook with the official news of BBC selling Lonely Planet to U.S. billionaire Brad Kelley for AUS$75 million (£51.5 million). This is less than the industry followers thought it would sell for when Skift originally broke the story two weeks ago. Now that the numbers are in and BBC’s £80m loss is official, Twitter is confounded [...]
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BBC’s governing body criticizes Lonely Planet sale price for being too low
DigitalThe BBC came under heavy criticism from its own trustees today after selling the Lonely Planet travel guides business to an American billionaire and making a loss of £80 million. The BBC Trust, under chairman Chris Patten, has been trying to trim the commercial arm BBC Worldwide for several months and today said the 2007 [...]
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BBC confirms sale of Lonely Planet to U.S. billionaire
DigitalToday BBC Worldwide officials and representatives of U.S. billionaire Brad Kelley announced the sale of Lonely Planet to a company controlled by Kelley for AUS$75 million (£51.5 million). The announcement confirms Skift’s widely reported scoop from two weeks ago about the sale and the buyer. Staff at Lonely Planet’s Melbourne headquarters was informed of the [...]
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Exclusive: BBC selling Lonely Planet to Kentucky cigarette billionaire Brad Kelley
DigitalUPDATE: BBC Worldwide confirms the sale to Lonely Planet EXCLUSIVE: Lonely Planet, the storied travel guidebooks publisher owned by BBC, is about to be sold, we have learned. And the buyer is a doozy: reclusive Kentucky billionaire Brad Kelley, who spent the 1990s selling discount cigarette brands like USA Gold, Bull Durham, and Malibu, then sold the company [...]
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BBC shuts down Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forums in pedophilia scare
DigitalLonely Planet’s popular online travel forum, Thorn Tree, has been temporarily shut down by owner BBC, reportedly after the discovery of paedophilia-related posts. A source said that BBC executives, still smarting from the Jimmy Savile scandal, went into “panic attack mode” after a disgruntled user alerted them to swearing and posts that discussed topics related [...]
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Has BBC finally made up its mind on selling a stake in Lonely Planet, post Google-Frommers?
DigitalPlease see important disclosures at the end the story. BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of BBC, is considering selling travel guidebook publisher Lonely Planet and is open to arrangements including partial stake sale to a strategic investor. This much was reported as “news” by Guardian earlier today. Our understanding is that BBC has been open for the [...]
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Ex-BBC broadcasting office returns to its roots and reopens as a luxury hotel
DestinationsBought by the BBC in 1939 to function as an emergency broadcasting centre, Wood Norton reopens this month as a luxury hotel.
Located in Worcestershire, a few miles from the Cotswolds and Stratford-upon-Avon, the site was bought by the BBC in 1939 to ac…
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Lonely Planet’s value down $78 million since BBC purchase
DestinationsBBC Worldwide has written down the value of Lonely Planet by almost £50m since acquiring the guidebook publisher in 2007, as the business struggles to cope with high costs and the transition to digital and TV. BBC Worldwide sparked widespread criticism that it was over-reaching its remit when it acquired a 75% stake in Lonely [...]
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BBC makes it easier to see the Olympics on your smartphone
DigitalThe two-week countdown to the Olympics is on, and the big broadcasters are getting their ducks in line for how they will be streaming, tweeting, sharing, and generally filling your digital life with their own twists on big sporting event. The latest development comes from the BBC, which today released the iOS and Android versions of its Olympics apps featuring text [...]
