Does anyone know the backstory here? Is this a legacy decision, a regional licensing issue, or something else entirely? I’m curious if there’s some historical or technical reason behind maintaining two sites that appear to do the same thing. Any insights?
> We have an unusual requirement when it comes to developing BBC websites: they carry advertising internationally (so that UK licence fee payers don't cover international costs) but not in the UK, and we have to build and design for both these situations simultaneously.
> Some content on our sites is available in the UK but not internationally; notably, certain rights restricted video. In order to ensure that people in the UK do not see advertising we have to use GeoIP.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/questions/help-using-bbc-servi...
"Why are the BBC websites different outside the UK?"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/questions/help-using-bbc-servi...
Given that, I would speculate that the .com version was the international version likely with USA targeted advertising.