Gary Lineker's production company raises concerns over BBC's podcast advertising plans

Goalhanger is a company that makes shows like The Rest is Politics and The Rest is History. They are part of a group of 20 media companies that are very upset about the BBC's plan to make money from its podcasts. They wrote a letter to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer asking her to look at the situation urgently because they are very worried. Gary Lineker, who works for the BBC, has been the highest paid person there for six years in a row, making £1.35 million last year. The BBC wants to start putting ads in its podcasts on platforms like Spotify and Apple. This could start happening later this year. Other popular shows like The Archers, In Our Time, and Desert Island Discs might also have ads in the future. The media companies say this plan goes against how the BBC usually works, which is by being funded by the licence fee and not having ads. The media companies are concerned that the BBC making money from ads in podcasts will hurt smaller podcast makers. They worry that listeners will have to use the BBC's own platform, BBC Sounds, if they want to listen without ads. The BBC says they are still thinking about these plans and nothing is final yet. The BBC wants to make more money by putting ads in some podcasts, but this has upset many people. They think it will hurt the podcasting market in the UK. The BBC and the government are still talking about these plans and nothing is decided yet. Some people are worried that listeners who don't use BBC Sounds will end up paying twice for content. The media companies think the BBC should not be looking for more money through ads when they already get a lot from the licence fee.