BBC Trust

The Trust regards it as a strict obligation that the BBC should minimise any negative competitive impacts on the wider market.  The Trust makes it clear that the BBC Executive must strive to achieve this while also working towards delivering the Public Purposes and other regulatory obligations. Applying the Competitive Impact Principle (CIP) is an important part of this duty. 

The BBC Trust’s Fair Trading Policies and Framework set out the CIP in more detail. The policy explains that the BBC Executive must pay particular attention to the size and scale of the activity under consideration in the context of the relevant market, and relative to the size and scale of the industry that is likely to be affected by the activity.

When applying the CIP, the Trust requires the BBC Executive to consider among other things impacts on consumer welfare and impacts on other market participants (such as suppliers, competitors and distributors).