BBC pays £200,000 for .com domain

Boston Business Computing may well be glad to get rid of it, actually. Every time a major story breaks people looking for the BBC reportedly overwhelm and crash the server.

The name change will come into effect on September 1.

The BBC denies this is an inappropriate use of license payers' money. A spokesperson claims it is more a question of serving the public: "BBC.com was an address a lot of people, especially inexperienced users, were going to looking for the British Broadcasting Corporation. This is a growing medium and it's our job to offer a service online as much as on television."

This spokesperson was also loath to reveal exactly how much the domain name cost the British public: "I cannot tell you how much it was, but it was a nominal but reasonable fee. The BBC are not going to pay over the odds for something like this."

Given that the domain name drugs.com recently went on sale for $1,000,000 in the US, a mere £200,000 could be a bargain.

Should the BBC use licence payers' money to buy the .com domain? Tell the mailroom