Is content king, or is it relevant content that matters?

Implications: BBC Worldwide bought Lonely Planet in a deal that insiders value at over $203m.  The question is whether content alone is enough to propel BBC Worldwide into the forefront of the $2.8 trillion global leisure travel market? Founders, Maureen and Tony Wheeler, will keep a 25% stake and presumably have been given a reason to stay around long enough to help BBC Worldwide figure out how to integrate it into their media empire.   Their take from the sale is reportedly  $143m.  This is the BBCs first major foray into the travel industry, but interestingly enough, they see themselves as just being in the content business, which could sell them short on monetizing the investment.  The deal will help the BBC become "one of the world's leading content businesses," BBC Worldwide Chief Executive John Smith said. The broadcaster also aims to grow online brands and to increase its operations in Australia and North America, Smith said.

Analysis: The first challenge is that BBC doesn't have a travel presence, other than publishing travel news and providing real time feeds on road conditions and public transport information.

While Lonely Planet is content, it is decidedly travel content and it feeds travel planning.  So will the BBC introduce a new service to take advantage of this new asset?

My hypothesis, which covers this acquisition and online travel and content in general is that although travel is one of the leading products available for sale via the Internet, it is tremendously under leveraged. 

After 10 years less than 10% of all travel is booked online.  Content can surely help that along, but unless companies can figure out how to put the content into context, delivering relevant results based on intent, we will have accomplished little else than guidebooks available electronically.

The underlying tools used to book travel, both online and offline, are flawed as it relates to capturing the 90+% of leisure travel that is booked online.  Hitwise reports that 6 of the top 10 search terms in the travel category relate to mapping and driving directions, yet the major online players are still hopelessly focused on the air traveler.

This is not surprising, as the underlying systems used to "power" the major online players were all built by their airline founders with one focus - allowing people to quickly and easily say "where they want to go" and "when".  That doesn't lend itself to a dialogue that uses rich content, such as what BBC now owns via its Lonely Planet asset.

As always, time will tell as to whether BBC as the purchaser of this asset has greater aspirations of integration over simply adding Lonely Planet into its global stable of businesses, bolstering its profits.  While profitability is a laudable goal, business growth and capturing new markets is even better and one that shareholders generally applaud as the top line grows and keeps pace with bottom line growth.