Hit shows such as Planet Earth, Spooks and Torchwood have raked in record profits for BBC Worldwide, the public broadcaster's commercial arm.

The group, which runs TV channels, sells programmes to broadcasters around the world and also has a magazine business, said yesterday pre-tax profits jumped 24% to £111.1m in the year to March 31.

Raising profits at BBC Worldwide has become crucial to the corporation since the recent licence fee settlement, which was well below what it wanted. The BBC set its commercial arm a target of doubling its profits by 2012, to £200m.

Global TV sales made up the lion's share of profits in the last year, up 19% to £40.2m. The group, which accounts for more than half of British television exports, flagged up the continuing strong demand from emerging markets such as eastern Europe, where a host of new TV channels are hungry for programmes.

The group plans to launch bbc.com, supported by advertising, and a commercial version of its media player, a web-streaming and download service, by next spring. The media player will allow UK audiences to watch shows online after the free seven-day catch-up service offered by the BBC's public service iPlayer. It will make money from advertising and paid-for items.

The digital media arm lost £3.9m in the year, up from £1.6m the year before, owing to investment in the new services.