Tory plan to destroy the Beeb...

[yxee]

Bore off! My argument is that it's an archaic system that sees everyone pay a flat rate no matter if they watch every show or prefer ITV.

It's too easy to get lost in details....

 

[Mowgli37]

Bore off!

Great start.

My argument is that it's an archaic system that sees everyone pay a flat rate no matter if they watch every show or prefer ITV.

So what would be your viable, working and cost effective alternative then?

It's too easy to get lost in details....

Yes, it's so much easier to spout rubbish to justify your argument.

 

[glasfryn]

the funnier side of this
the morning programme on Radio susex were discussing this very item, the presenter then went over to some light music and proceeded to play the red flag.
cue all the blue rinse ladies in sussex having a hot flush and wandering to the bathroom muttering "disgusting"

 

[studio150]

The BBC and NHS are possibly the two greatest things about this country. This government is determined to destroy both

Wow 5 days in to a new Government and even without the Queens speech you have decided that your extreme left wing views have been ignored therefore everything must be at risk from the current Government.

From your views over many post you make Karl Marx look more right wing than Margaret Thatcher.

Anyway back to the TV licence debate. This is now outdated given the many platforms that are available to view television programmes, with many not choosing to watch the BBC live.

Given the amount of adverts that are currently shown on the BBC advertising their own programmes I fail to see why the BBC couldn't become self funding by a combination of advertising and oversea sales of 'their world class product'.

No doubt some NSC contributors of a certain age will recall the need for a wireless (radio) licence, and then the two tier colour and monochrome TV licence.

I would suggest that the time has come for the BBC to stand on its own 2 feet, adapt and evolve in the real world without the need of funding by tax.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

We already know that the 20% remainder of the Government's holding in Lloyds is going to be sold off to raise £4Bn but will they now consider selling their 30% stake in Royal Mail and all of the BBC to the highest bidder ?

 

[Hampster Gull]

The BBC and NHS are possibly the two greatest things about this country. This government is determined to destroy both

Have they closed yet? I am sure some have said they were due to be shut down this week.

 

[heathgate]

We already know that the 20% remainder of the Government's holding in Lloyds is going to be sold off to raise £4Bn but will they now consider selling their 30% stake in Royal Mail and all of the BBC to the highest bidder ?

That 20% will raise more than 4 billion...

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

That 20% will raise more than 4 billion...

The plebs will be able to buy at a 5% discount and given preferential treatment on applications up to £1,000.

 

[chaileyjem]

Anyway back to the TV licence debate. This is now outdated given the many platforms that are available to view television programmes, with many not choosing to watch the BBC live.
.

In 2014 69% of all TV was watched live in the UK. An average of 3 hours a day.
On demand TV (ie: iPlayer type services) accounted for 12mins of the total daily viewing.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/cmr/cmr14/UK_2.pdf

 

[cunning fergus]

The current Charter review period and licence fee settlement runs until 2017.
The process is well under way but there's currently no public proposals from the govt. The licence fee is currently frozen as well until 2017.

However the DCMS select committee looking at the future of the BBC and chaired by the new DCMS minister John Whittingdale produced an interim report earlier this year.
It said this about the licence fee. (It also discussed governance, production, and scope etc)

"There currently appears to be no better alternative to funding the BBC in the near-term
other than a hypothecated tax or the licence fee. However, the principle of the licence fee in
its current form is becoming harder to sustain given the changes in communication and
media technology and changing audience needs and behaviours..... or
moving to a German-style broadcasting levy." (ie: a compulsory levy on all households)
via http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmcumeds/315/315.pdf

Noted, however if non payment is decriminalised then the BBC is dead in the water.

I won't pay the fee, levy or whatever it is going forward, and it will only take another million or so to push the BBC to the brink because neither they or the state will be able to afford to prosecute non payers.

People power............

 

[chaileyjem]

People power............

As i've quoted before 96% of the population use the BBC every week.
78% say they would miss the BBC if it were not there... a higher figure than any other broadcaster.
source: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/annualre...rt_201314_bbctrust_understandingaudiences.pdf

 

[nicko31]

Good article in today's Evening Standard...

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/c...ccess-story-that-serves-respect-10246800.html

Even the supposedly-contentious licence fee is more popular now than it was in the Eighties or Nineties, and is favoured by 48 per cent of the public, well ahead of advertising (29 per cent) and subscription (20 per cent).

Probably best the Tories leave well alone

 

[Justice]

Millions go unspent at the BBC every year terrible value for money.

 

[drew]

Millions go unspent at the BBC every year terrible value for money.

Link?

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Noted, however if non payment is decriminalised then the BBC is dead in the water.

I won't pay the fee, levy or whatever it is going forward, and it will only take another million or so to push the BBC to the brink because neither they or the state will be able to afford to prosecute non payers.

People power............

If non payment of the licence is decriminalised you can wave goodbye to the Beeb in its current form. Reducing the cost of the licence after 2017 will have the same effect. A combination of both and the options appear to be a takeover by one of the media barons , go down the subscription route or end up as a ITV/commercial radio clone.

 

[nicko31]

Millions go unspent at the BBC every year terrible value for money.

Unspent? Well better than overspending...

 

[Justice]

Unspent? Well better than overspending...

BBC staff spend £14m a year on taxi's well they wont be spending my money on bloody cabs. They receive £3.6 Billion a year in Licence fee's and waste it by the bucket load on things like paying that **** Graham Norton £2m a year.

 

[drew]

BBC staff spend £14m a year on taxi's well they wont be spending my money on bloody cabs. They receive £3.6 Billion a year in Licence fee's and waste it by the bucket load on things like paying that **** Graham Norton £2m a year.

You keep posting things but never any links to back them up!

Where did you get the figure of £14m from and you still haven't posted any link substantiating your comment that millions go unspent every year?

 

[boik]

BBC staff spend £14m a year on taxi's well they wont be spending my money on bloody cabs. They receive £3.6 Billion a year in Licence fee's and waste it by the bucket load on things like paying that **** Graham Norton £2m a year.

So you really think that Sky and BT staff walk and cycle everywhere? It's the same in every big company, so no particular reason to pick on the BBC.

 

[Justice]

So you really think that Sky and BT staff walk and cycle everywhere? It's the same in every big company, so no particular reason to pick on the BBC.

Your not forced to pay for Sky.