Media / Talk of the trade: Nice little earner

IF the BBC took advertising, the third weekly EastEnders would be a big money-earner. According to a survey by the consultancy firm Media Audits, two-thirds of advertisers would like to buy advertising time within or around the soap opera. The only programme to score higher in their affections is the Nine O'Clock News, which 75 per cent of advertisers lust after.

The imminent White Paper on the BBC's future is expected to recommend that the licence fee should continue to be the main source of revenue, and that sordid commerce should keep its distance.