BBC Worldwide launched beeb.net back in 1999. The purpose of the service was to provide a trusted brand and a helping hand to get onto the internet at a time when it was still an exciting, but potentially confusing, new phenomenon. Since that time, the market for internet access has changed dramatically as most people have integrated use of it into their daily lives and the bundling of internet services with pay TV, telephone and even mobile services are becoming more common.

Closing beeb.net will enable us to concentrate our efforts on our core activities of bringing value to the BBC through content distribution, sales of TV programmes overseas, production of DVDs, books and magazines , and the expansion of our other online businesses such as commercial websites (for example topgear.com and radiotimes.com) and making content available on new platforms.