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Personally, one of the main reasons I make BBC News Online MY preferred online news resource is its fast loading time. When viewing a lot of pages, banner ads can really slow things down. Whilst I wouldn't mind waiting for ads on the main BBC pages, I feel News Online should be exempt.
Alex Bayley, UK

There is nothing wrong with adverts on BBC online; beeb.com already carries adverts and no one saw any harm in that. The BBC needs all the money it can get especially with all the sports coverage it's losing. Many others say that they pay a licence fee so that they don't have to put up with adverts, but not all online viewers pay that as not all of them are from the UK! It's not as if adverts are going to interrupt a programme as they do on television. The BBC is one of the only organisations I'd trust to make sure its advertisers are not placing any ads that may cause any offence. If it means that our terrestrial channels will not have adverts on them then this is the only other option.
Abdul Azim, UK

The only advertising on the BBC Web site should be that of the BBC itself. The Beeb Web site unashamedly promotes BBC products, but it is in effect the BBC brand that is being sold. To advertise on any BBC branded service would be wrong. Only services that do not carry the BBC name such as UK Gold should carry advertising, otherwise the BBC might as well become a private company. Gerald Kaufman and his team must realise that once the BBC begins moving down this road, it is almost impossible to justify the licence fee altogether.
Francis Hellyer, UK

Please, no advertising for BBC news. By all means carry ads on other BBC web sites, but the news is too important to be influenced by commercial concerns. As BBC News Online is currently paid for by UK licence fee payers, I do not see that it is fair for them to put up with advertising, so why not have two versions of the BBC News site, one with advertising, and one without?
The advert-supported site could be available world wide, with the advert-free site only available to registered UK users, once they have completed a form including their current TV licence number.
Jolyon Ralph, UK

The BBC 'should consider online ads'. Absolutely not! Half the reason that I read BBC News Online, as with using other BBC services, is that I do NOT have to put up with the adverts. It is a particular safe haven on the Internet that is getting so littered with commercial banners etc. Putting ads online would be stepping further on the slippery path towards the BBC losing its grip on unbiased news for our society.
William Space Marshall, UK

BBC News Online and the BBC website in general are a haven away from the very commercial nature of the WWW. Please do not carry adverts, they are distracting, slow down page loading and would dilute the BBC's authoritative position.
Ian Crane, UK

I think adverts on the Web are like junk-mail - nobody really wants them. I really don't think throwing cash at BBC Online from advertisers would make the site a better one. Quite the opposite, it would just make it look cluttered, and it would cost the visitors more to download. Ads? No thanks!
Stephen Daniels, UK

I think it's time the BBC went further than what is being proposed and introduced sponsorship for its major events, such as sport, in order to protect the contracts they do currently hold.
Ian Finch, UK

Your Internet news service is very good but couldn't support itself purely through advertising. The size of the UK Internet population isn't big enough. It is currently very hard to make money purely through advertising on the Internet. To maintain its current standard it may have to indeed be subsidised.
Simon Rhodes

No, BBC News Online should not carry adverts. It remains a little corner of informative relief in a horribly commercialising world where the interests of the richest invade almost every corner of life - with the apparent connivance of our 'elected representatives'. I for one will cease using the service if it too is contaminated by corporate interests.
Zoe Young, UK

Adverts, no way. Allow them onto any BBC services and it would be the thin edge of the wedge. With more channels coming due to digital, quality is bound to take a dive. We need the BBC to maintain quality, and that means no adverts.
Steve Goodey, UK

Yes, the BBC should take adverts on its Internet and international services as these provide benefit to people outside the UK and hence non-licence fee payers.
Angus Alderman, UK

It's nice not to have adverts, though if it can help the BBC to become a major force in providing news and information which is non-American, why should the BBC be isolated from the potential rewards that the Internet could financially provide? BBC1, BBC2 and BBC radio are the reasons we pay the licence fee. Any additional programming or services should be allowed to tap into the advertising piggy bank.
Paul Thomas

The minute the BBC has advertising is the moment it loses its impartiality and the special something that the BBC has to offer. The BBC is almost 100% quality, ads will make it's service tacky, interrupted, inconvenient and above all of lower quality. Don't do it!
Richard, UK

The BBC should fund its online services in a different manner to the public broadcasting television and radio sides of its business. This could either be in the form of subscription fees or adverts. I don't think it's fair to expect people who don't use the site to be subsidising it via their licence fee. This also applies to non-mainstream services such as BBC News 24, which I think can only be viewed on cable or satellite. Having said that, it is such a pleasure to read the BBC web pages without flashing ad banners everywhere!
Andy, UK

No adverts on News Online PLEASE. This is a very good service, and should not make money! Editorial content will inevitably be compromised by advertising - but even if strict controls are in force, then the service will seem to be compromised, and not trusted as much.
Edward Breeveld, UK

Advertising on BBC News Online? I don't see why not, really. I think there's an important difference between television advertising and Internet advertising. Because of the sequential nature of television programmes, adverts actually interrupt the viewing process. Internet adverts, however, can be skipped over instantaneously, using the simple strategy of not looking at them and not clicking on them.
I think the BBC News Online service is absolutely excellent; the more money that can be spent on it the better. And as nobody is ever going to agree to the BBC being funded by an 'Internet licence fee', it may as well start its online services as it means to go on with them - on a secure commercial footing.
Jason Handby, UK

If this is the price of protecting the BBC's public service role then so be it - although it would be sad to lose the admirable clarity and focus of the online service.
Tony Robinson, Cumbria

The only reason I read News Online in favour of other online news services is its lack of advertising. I'd rather see a marginal increase in the licence fee to cover costs than see the BBC's news pages adulterated with advertising banners. IMHO, the BBC's funding model is correct and is the only way in which the news media, online or otherwise, can maintain independence and objectivity. Just say no to adverts!
Shaun Lowry, UK

I certainly wouldn't welcome them, but if it was the only way to keep the service running then I'd put up with them as a necessary evil. If you'd oblige and serve adverts from a separate domain name then I could filter them out as I do with ads as found on other sites. In general, an excess of adverts makes the service a lot slower and costs me more money on my phone bill downloading graphics in which I have no interest. Ultimately I'll just give up browsing a particular site when they go graphic-mad. I often browse with graphics off to avoid this, which is another way of removing adverts.
David Hough, UK

I would prefer BBC News Online not to carry adverts. I consider the site to be a useful extension of the BBC's public service news output. I have no contact with News 24, but would prefer that it too remained advert free.
Rabin Ezra

One of the main reasons for using BBC News Online as opposed to the many other Internet sources is the fact that there is no advertising. This means that you do not waste precious time and resources downloading complicated graphics etc which you are not interested in. On some sites this a major problem. I know of people who access the BBC from abroad where they can be assured that precious international link capacity is not being wasted with commercial irrelevancies.
Steve Gannon, UK

Hold on a minute..... Don't I pay my licence fee so that I don't have to see adverts? I consider BBC News Online to be part of the BBC's overall service, covered by the licence fee. If £20m of licence payers money has already gone into the BBC's online services, then, NO, online services should not carry adverts. If the decision is taken to publish adverts on BBC News Online then I'll be expecting a reduction in the licence fee.
Graham Woodhouse, UK

I'd be prepared to put up with commercials if it meant that the BBC had the finances to win back the sport it is losing out to its rivals.
Daniel Barnes, UK

No, no, no thank you. Talk about the slippery slope! I am sure that part of the reason why the BBC site is winning awards is because it is not influenced by advertisers. Put another 50p on the licence fee.
Doreen Dignan

If it means that our terrestrial channels will not have adverts on, then by all means put adverts on online channels. After all, many people viewing them are from other countries who do not pay the TV licence!
Peter Mash, UK

Whilst I do not agree that the BBC's TV and radio services should carry commercials, I strongly approve of their web sites (both beeb.com and bbc.co.uk) carrying banner adverts. The Radio Times and beeb.com already carry adverts, why not bbc.co.uk?
Banner adverts are a minor intrusion, like a quarter-page printed ad, nothing like the forced interruption of a radio or TV programme. With banners and printed ads I can just skip them and carry on reading if I wish. With TV and radio commercials I am forced to wait until my programme continues. I'm not saying banner adverts don't catch my eye (I've checked lots of stuff that looked interesting), I'm just saying that they're not annoying or intrusive.
The BBC is the only site on my favourites list which does not carry banner adverts. Yet the BBC needs the money the most, and it's the only organisation I'd trust to make sure its advertisers don't dictate the content or quality of their output!
Andrew Oakley, UK

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