TOKYO -- The British Broadcasting Corp. could start charging for news on the web to offset flagging advertising revenue, the head of a commercial unit tells The Nikkei.

BBC Global News is considering such options as a "micropayment" system offering articles for a few cents each and a membership regime where donors support a still-free website, CEO Jim Egan said in an interview. "We are beginning to explore those direct payment options more seriously," he said.

BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan

Egan deemed a conventional paywall charging $10 to $15 a month "quite unlikely" for BBC.com, which draws some 100 million monthly visitors.

Unlike the BBC public service company, which collects a television tax from British households, BBC Global News is a commercial arm that runs the broadcaster's international news channel as well as the digital platform. Annual sales amount to 110 million pounds ($142 million), with two-thirds coming from ad revenue.

But "I don't see as much growth in advertisement in the future as we had seen in the past," Egan said.

BBC Global News gets most of its content from the BBC parent and directly employs only a handful of reporters -- a business model envied by private media organizations. It can also charge fees if it wishes. Quality journalism costs money, and finding the right balance between spending and revenue poses an ongoing challenge, Egan said.

How to make money off journalism has become an issue around the world as websites and social media platforms provide free access. While such publications as The New York Times have achieved a level of success with paywalls, it is uncommon for a broadcaster to go that route.

News distributors serving the U.K. and U.S. are quick to point out how the likes of Facebook and Google vacuum up much of the ad revenue, in large part by repurposing their news content. But Egan is more welcoming of the internet giants.

"We generally have a good relationship with those organizations," Egan said, adding the BBC contributes enormously to the success of some. Still, "we are looking for a greater balance of value in that relationship."

(Nikkei)