Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

Not even Match of the Day? ;)

Do you never use any BBC services:-, website, apps, iPlayer, national/local radio, news, weather? If so fair enough, just think people use the BBC more than they realise.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

Our household uses it a fair bit and personally l think the license fee represents good value for money as once it crosses the rubicon it will be far more expensive in my view to watch the BBC services.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

I resent paying into what is clearly a political organization.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

Your imagination is running rather wild today methinks..;)

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

I see it as a way of paying NOT to see commercials about soap powder and nasal sprays and funeral insurance. Worth every penny.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

I hardly think that drawing attention to the government's ultimate intention to abolish the licence fee and asking how this can be done at this stage is 'BBC licence fee bashing'.

I do think it is entirely legitimate, however, to ask why this outdated system is still relevant in this day and age, particularly given that an increasing proportion of the population would rather that BBC funding did not come from people who did not wish to use the service. We are no longer a 'one channel' country, which was the case when the licence fee was set up, and indeed, there is now a considerable choice available for our citizens via TV and radio.

Personally, despite the government's misgivings about the licence fee, I can't see them abolishing it until the late 2020s at the earliest. We need to wait for gigabit broadband to be rolled out across the country before abolition becomes a viable proposition. I doubt very much whether the government's determination to do something about the BBC following the blatant bias shown towards the Conservatives during and before the election campaign will come to much at this stage, apart from the tokenism of decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee.

The Beeb's Charter expires in 2027, and that is probably when a decision to scrap the licence fee will take place. It will be interesting to note whether this becomes a commitment for the future in the mid-term review which is due in 2021.

The big question is whether all TV is streamed by the end of the next decade, which will make a subscription model workable. The change may hit pensioners hard unless the government comes up with a funding arrangement to assist them to update their equipment.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

Your tunnel vision around the issue of IPTV is making it difficult for you to understand the issues that are actually at play here.

IP is just another means of delivering television. On-demand streaming is just another way of delivering television. There is no reason why the addition of a new delivery mechanism should alter the fundamental proposition behind the TV licence. The introduction of cable and satellite delivery didn’t, and arguably they should have because at a stroke there were about 20 times more channels available the day after Sky launched than the day before.

The very most that universal gigabit broadband might do is justify DTT switch-off, but even here complete switchover of the National free to air tv infrastructure operates on a very long lead time. Analogue switch-off occurred 14 years after the first DTT service launched. The final VHF broadcast was 20 years after the first UHF service.

The TV licence doesn’t exist to support TV delivered in any particular way. History shows that TV has moved every couple of decades to whatever broadcast standard best suited the medium at the time, with the number of channels and over-the-top services constantly increasing. The TV licence exists to ensure there is a universal news, arts and entertainment service, accessible to all, covering a broad range of interests, at a sustained, high quality.

Arguments about the abolition of the TV licence will have to address the market’s ability to adequately meet these needs without government intervention (which is in essence what the licence system is).

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

I think you misunderstand my point. If you currently receive all your channels via the TV transmitters on your unconnected TV set, the subscription model won't work. That's why I think we will have to wait until everyone accesses their TV channels via IPTV.

I understand perfectly that IPTV is just another method of delivering TV - I'm not sure why you thought I did not know this! Whether or not we still have the licence fee once that is fully rolled out will be a political decision, of course.

In terms of government funding, it would appear that money will be available from government for those channels broadcasting public service programming, so that is fairly straight forward.

I don't think it will take much time to switch off DTT - the spectrum will be needed desperately for other purposes.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

I'd rather be able to choose which providers that did not show commercials I subscribed to.

Incidentally, I've just seen that Rishi Sunak, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has confirmed that subscriptions will not replace the licence fee before 2027.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

Ah well maybe wait till 2027 before you start yet another BBC Licence fee thread then OB? ;)

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

It would be immensely difficult to do that anyway, as the BBC’s funding arrangements are enshrined in a Royal charter that doesn’t expire until 2027. However what’s really happening here is the groundwork for a debate that will occur in earnest from about 2024 when discussion about the next charter begins.

Personally I think, when it comes to it, that a charter-mandated subscription paywall would be politically impossible to implement, because the charter also details the services the BBC must deliver. The draft charter would therefore lay bare just how far BBC services would have to be cut in order for the organisation to get by on its projected subscription income, which would inevitably be rather smaller than its present licence fee income. When confronted with the loss of a great deal of output that by itself is quite niche, a coalition of lovers of the BBC’s niche output, amounting to quite a large number of people, is likely to result in any such plan being sidelined.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

I think what will happen is that the government will revise its definition of public service broadcasting and ensure that the appropriate range of programming is maintained. The channels will bid for that work and government grants will be available for those channels that agree to make those programmes. They will not necessarily go to the BBC, although I think the Beeb would, in fact, get the lion's share.

Incidentally, there is plenty of room for cost savings. If the BBC displayed all its programmes on a web site and no longer bought in programmes from elsewhere that are currently used to fill the schedules, a huge amount of money would be saved.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

I would not miss the BBC, but Im quite sure it would find a way to survive without an outdated tax.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

I have no doubt that the BBC will survive - that is not in question. Not by me, anyway.

The question is simply whether only the people who watch/listen to it should have to pay for it.

Re: BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives
 

Give it a rest and pay the fee old chap; they'll come for you in the end ;)

'Call the Midwife's' is on Xmas and you'll love that, worth the licence fee by itself ! :)

Seriously I don't get it that people moan about £150 a year to the Beeb for quality content, when they pay around £1000 a year to Sky/VM for hundreds of channels of crap.