BBC Worldwide, the main commercial arm of the BBC, has reported a sharp rise in year profits and said it will return some £96 million sterling to the broadcaster.
The group, which invests in television programmes such as
The Weakest Link
and the
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Teletubbies
, reported a 170 per cent rise in annual pre-tax profit to £23 million.
The company, which was set up by the BBC to generate supplementary income, said its channel distribution rose almost 20 per cent to more than 365 million homes across the world.
The company, which also publishes books, magazines and video and audio cassettes, said its properties and children's brands - including the Tweenies and Bob the Builder - performed particularly well.