A BBC Unit May Be Headed For The Block

Is the Beeb's international cousin looking for a buyer? Britain's publicly funded British Broadcasting Corp. confirmed on Sept. 8 that it is talking to media giants such as Bertelsmann, Time Warner, and Walt Disney about the future of its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide. If sold, the unit's businesses -- which include international distribution of programs such as The Office, cable channel BBC America, and magazines, books, and videos -- could fetch as much as $3.6 billion. Four investment banks are advising the BBC, but it stresses that no decision to sell has been made.