BBC licence fee should be scrapped, says thinktank - The Guardian

michaels

Re the Licence fee - I am generally fee market but I think the BBC does embody the nation in the same way as we (like to think) that there are British values and that we should distinguish between the British and immigrants.

However I can't see why the fee and the BBC shouldn't be much smaller and still fulfill this role. Personally I find the BBC News coverage not so much partisan as having an agenda, in a sort of 'institutionalised left wing' manner, not consciously but just because of the views of those who chose to work there being self reinforcing. I suspect easier for an outsider to observe than someone born and bred English like me - any of our non-British members care to comment?

StevieJ

Independent TV is falling apart with the dilution of revenue caused by the number of channels and competition from internet advertising, ITV can't even afford to make Heartbeat anymore. We need BBC more than ever now.

CLAPTON

BBC may or may not be good value but I have difficulty with the idea you can be dragged to court and fined/imprisoned if you don't pay a fee for something you may choose never to watch
whilst it is a gravy train for the top people there earning very large salaries for things I value only a little

Proxy

The website alone is worth £12 a month. Compare it to the Times' offering...

A._Badger

I've never been able to find a convincing justification for being forced to pay for a diet of Left-liberal agitprop from the BBC.

A day stuck in the car listening to Radio 4 or 5 Live is like a day being forced to sit in the junior common room listening to the 'wit and wisdom' of a bunch of students.

Who will, inevitably, go on to be the next generation of BBC broadcasters.

Oh, but wait!....

RJP33

It should stay, I’ve lived round the world and the BBC is the envy of everywhere, it’s one of our greatest national institutions and should be left alone.

Not to say there aren’t running problems but if anything we need the BBC more than ever to keep broadcasting standards up.

iPlayer on it’s own is worth £12 a month.

Generali

It's another one of these things where you pays your money and takes your choice.

The BBC is very inefficient from what I've seen (limited) and heard (extensive) however, much of the output is of a high standard and, more importantly, for the most part the people that pay for it like it. There is certainly something to be said for having a common culture, even if that common culture is Eastenders and Jonathan Ross.

If you have a hypothecated tax* that people don't object to paying for the most part producing output and services that people enjoy consuming I don't see a problem with that.




*a tax all of which is ring-fenced and spent entirely on a particular thing

RJP33

From a national identity/culture point of view there are certain things that are great images of Britain and should not be changed for short sighted cost savings, the BBC is one of them.

nightwatchman

michaels wrote: »

Re the Licence fee - I am generally fee market but I think the BBC does embody the nation in the same way as we (like to think) that there are British values and that we should distinguish between the British and immigrants.

However I can't see why the fee and the BBC shouldn't be much smaller and still fulfill this role. Personally I find the BBC News coverage not so much partisan as having an agenda, in a sort of 'institutionalised left wing' manner, not consciously but just because of the views of those who chose to work there being self reinforcing. I suspect easier for an outsider to observe than someone born and bred English like me - any of our non-British members care to comment?

Be an emigrant & having lived 1/3 of my adult life abroad I would rather pay the BBC fee than watch the rubbish that other national broadcasters abroad peddling.
Quality news, excellent choice of programs, and all advertisement free
Now the £145 p/a is a bit too much IMHO.
Not so long ago it was only £100 something so I find £145 about 15-20% over inflation.

mattcanary

Definitely should keep the licence fee.

If the BBC went pay-per-view, subscription-only, the normal charge would be more than £12.00 per month I am sure of that.

BBC is far superior to ITV and the other channels. Should keep it that way. That means not being solely driven by making profits.

Besides, BBC has no adverts (apart from its own programs). That is worth the licence fee on its own. Particularly when you are watching F1. The BBC coverage of this is ten times better than ITV's was.