Am having a tough time on the road keeping up with all the deals that are flying every which way across the industry. Thankfully I have my spies everywhere helping me to stay in touch. Latest piece is that the venerable UK broadcaster the BBC (trough their BBC Worldwide division) has bought the Melbourne based guidebook and information group Lonely Planet. Is not a full buyout - the founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler will retain 25% (according to the SMH). Is proof that travel content is highly prized. Let's hope the BBC can help Lonely Planet work on its online execution where they have to date had a mixed record.
Thanks to Stuart McDonald of Travelfish who was first to send through the story to me.
2 comments:
Hey,
I really like your site.
If you check out my blog (well not yet I don't have much up) it'll be about my trip to Central America coming up soon.
Thanks
The Travelling Guy
http://travel.wwwgen.com
BBC and Lonely Planet is a nice fit I feel. Both carry an air of solidity and reliability. Good on Tony and Maureen, I'm sure they've gained a nice windfall for all the travel back-ache and hard work over the years.
Most interesting perhaps is that BBC is in a spending mood. Lonely Planet has so far been a little limited in using its content online, while BBC has made impressive moves with their video content, especially in areas like news and music. It's interesting to think about what they could now do with all that travel content.
Cheers,
Luke Clark,
TheTransitCafe.com
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