TV licence fee
 

This is Andrew Neil’s take on what should happen to the licence fee.

The idea has merit, but it’s not my preferred option.

https://www.mediamole.co.uk/entertai...ee_479539.html

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

It wasn’t a premium site, Seph! :waving:

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Just to be helpful, the other one is a subscription model together with a free channel of programmes, funded by the government, which fall under the heading ‘public service broadcasting’, defined as news, religious programmes and minority interests.

There is no need for anything else.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Religious programming is already mandated by the existing charter and the BBC carries it off without any serious complaint.

It’s probably easiest to observe if you listen to R2 or R4 in the morning and note the balance of religious viewpoints covered in their pause for thought slot. Most of the time it’s presented by a Christian, but Muslims, Jews and others get a look in. It seems to be broadly in proportion to the representation of those faiths in the country.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

But "they" have a mission…

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

A reminder of the kind of thing the BBC provides that the streamers don't.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ent...ukhpmg00000008

Re: BBC licence fee
 

You'd think the news would be read in Ukranian. Perhaps a lot of people there speak English??

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Yes, that kind of activity should be funded by the government.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Should have been scrapped years ago.
In my opinion it is a service that should be paid for by the government.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

No! Best out of the hands of the government(Tory or Labour) and not run by the media in general. it should be a PBS that's completely free from political interference by government and what passes for a free press owned and run by whomever has the cash to but them outright.I pay the subscription expecting to get a completely independent service especially the news service.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

lts reputation has suffered somewhat on that front with Farage tweeting the Putin line on the invasion of Ukraine.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Probably these…

https://www.indy100.com/politics/nig...r-putin-praise

Re: BBC licence fee
 

No one wants to pay for it, so who else is going to pay for it?
I stopped paying for it years ago and now solely watch Netflix.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Yes of course you do.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

So not the BBC then

Re: BBC licence fee
 

The 1000th thread on the BBC licence fee on CF!? People pay nearly as much a month on their Cable sub, than they do the BBC in a year.....

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Yes but people can cancel their cable, they're not charged for not watching it

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Exactly. There is a proposal to fund news etc from a Government grant and the entertainment etc from a subscription.

The BBC could not remain independent if news is funded by a Government grant. If they covered something the Government didn't like or something embarrassing, they could so easily be threatened with a funding cut.

I accept that this can and appears to have been done with the TVL though.

I think it would be better levying a media tax as a precept to the Council Tax. Almost everyone benefits from the BBC in some way. Despite it's faults, it really came into it's own when the pandemic started and they have recently started doing emergency broadcasts to Ukrania as Putin trys to stop the correct information from getting out to the people there by bombing TV masts and trying to knock out the internet.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Exactly.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

I think I rolled this clip out last time we had this debate. It's still funny!

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Hahaha I remember that when it was first broadcast :D

Re: BBC licence fee
 

I get a lot more for my Cable sub.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Mostly repeats of BBC programmes !

---------- Post added at 08:47 ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 ----------

Sometimes I think people forget what they are getting for less than £14 a month:-

Nine national TV channels plus regional TV services

Radio stations - 10 pan-UK, six national and 40 local

BBC website - including News, Sport, Weather, CBeebies, CBBC, Food, Bitesize, Arts

BBC iPlayer - 1000s of live and on demand programmes (including news, sport, dramas, comedy, documentaries, entertainment), box sets and exclusive content

BBC Sounds - a huge range of musical genres, radio stations and podcasts

BBC World Service - TV, radio and online

Other apps and online services like Bitesize, CBeebies, Food, News, Sport and Weather

A subscription service us impractical because of the way the BBC is broadcast and would cost a lot more.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Please can the thread title be corrected to "TV Licence Fee"?

Re: BBC licence fee
 

:tu:

Re: BBC licence fee
 

And most of the BBC is repeats of BBC programmes, no one listens to local radio, sometimes they have more people working on it than listening

Re: BBC licence fee
 

You need to add jail time for not paying it when you watch a channel that has nothing to do with the BBC, has not been involved in the production of that channel and will not benefit in any way from the TV tax you pay the BBC. The potential for jail time is something i would not get for not paying a cable sub when i cancel it. Try canceling the TV tax and if you do cancel it expect the numpties at your door every week. I for one would vote to cancel the tax if the Government ever had the danglers to hold a referendum on if it should be removed and the BBC forced to go commercial.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Yes, pretty impressive. But that doesn’t address the main argument here, which is why are people forced to pay for all this if they don’t benefit from it?

Are you worried because if you give people the choice, rather fewer people will pay for it than the claimed popularity of the service would suggest?

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Don't worry Old Boy i think this time round the tax will go the way of the dinosaur.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

What - exist for 165 million years? ;)

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Ha Ha :)

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Trust you to twist it, Hugh.

But I guess that’s why we love you.

:hugs:

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

A great British institution, surely you approve? ;) Part of what makes the UK the best country in the World surely? You'd miss the BBC if it went, it's part of our identity.

Or do you prefer the mass of foreign imports on other channels? Too many foreign programmes coming into this country I'm sure you'd agree ? Time Priti and Nadine banned them coming over here and taking over our airwaves... :)

Re: BBC licence fee
 

None of the above. All we are saying is that we should have the choice on whether or not to pay for it. Not a very revolutionary idea really, Mr K.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

It is quite revolutionary and I approve comrade OB. I wish I could also decide whether to pay my utility bills too.

The BBC is a public service broadcaster , its unlike other broadcasters. It provides vital services, eg local news/weather/traffic and programmes commercial broadcasters would never do or take risks with. If , God forbid, WW3 starts it would provide a vital function.

I would be in favour of it being funded out of general taxation, other countries have gone down this route. Then at least the ability to pay is a factor. Any subscription service would go after ratings and be like any other downmarket commercial channels, and we've hundreds of those. Programmes like Countryfile, Attenborough docs, risk taking dramas/films wouldn’t get made.

Re: TV licence fee
 

They should just add it to the council tax, so every house would still pay and those that 'only watch Netflix' could drop the charade too, so win win. And the BBC would get an increase!!

Re: TV licence fee
 

Not a good idea at all. I live in a town with a dodgy Labour council that likes to "invest" council tax payers money in grand schemes. They have just lost £70 million they invested in together Energy and another £30 million in a small time bank. what do you think they would do if they had TV tax money to invest ?

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Mr K, you completely missed the point. You pay your utility bills because you have used the services provided. You don't have to pay a gas bill if you have not used any gas.

The BBC is not an emergency service, it is an entertainment service. As I said before, the news and other 'public service' elements of its broadcasting could be separately funded by the government.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Read the BBC's Public Purpose - it's not entertainment. And we all have to pay for services we don't use.

I fear your opinion has been formed from assumptions in place of very basic research. I also fear you won't alter your mind even when your assumptions are shown to be false.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Marvelous idea, imagine the Government handing out money to their mates & chums to produce TV, Radio, and a news service.

I'm sure it will unbiased, value for money, and won't ever, ever go over budget.

:rofl:

Re: TV licence fee
 

Part govt funding and part subscription sounds like a logical compromise but the devil would be in the detail.

No other major UK broadcaster (or any at all, perhaps?) operates a subscription-only model. So would BBC 'entertainment' be allowed to sell advertising slots? I suspect ITV, Sky, Channel 4 etc would argue that it could have a devestating impact on their businesses.

Of course, there's the argument that we're in the streaming world now, so the BBC should be like Netflix, which costs subscribers significantly less per month than the TV licence. But every subscriber has had their bill effectively subsidised by Netflix's $15 billion debt. Will the government be happy to have billions of debt on its balance sheet in order for a subscription BBC to compete? Given the govt wants to sell Channel 4 because it *might* one day lead to a liability on the govt balance sheet, I suspect not.

Of course there's also the question of how Freeview and Freesat homes - many of which have equipment that's incapable of decrypting broadcasts - would access pay BBC - think about the elderly etc.

I can't see how Andrew Neill's suggestion would work in practice. I suspect the BBC will ultimately end up doing a lot less and be limited to whatever funding the govt decides upon for PSB news, radio etc. Any entertainment offering will be sold off (anyone for EastEnders at 7pm on ITV? ;))

Re: TV licence fee
 

Re: BBC licence fee
 

The BBC May have a public service remit but most of the output can be described as entertainment. There is no reason why programmes such as ‘Killing Eve’ should be considered as part of the public service broadcast, is there?

The Public Service part of their TV operations could be put on one channel paid for by the government. The vast majority of the BBC’s content could be subscription only (or free with ads).

Re: BBC licence fee
 

As Andrew said - you’re operating on assumptions. One of these is that ‘public service’ and ‘entertainment’ are somehow mutually exclusive concepts. They aren’t. “Educate, inform and entertain” *are* the BBC’s public service remit, and have been since 1922.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

And aren't needed 100 years later, they were then but aren't anymore

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Maybe so. But the Charter can be changed.

Now that was easy....

---------- Post added at 08:04 ---------- Previous post was at 07:32 ----------

You say that no other major UK broadcaster operates a subscription only model, but effectively the BBC operates on the compulsory subscription model called the licence fee. What I am suggesting is that the PSB requirement should be more narrowly defined so that programmes such as dramas and entertainment shows are excluded. The commercial sector is well able to produce good quality drama as the global streamers have already demonstrated. The 'socially necessary' PSB content should be hived off to a government funded channel and the rest could be by subscription.

I accept that payment by subscription is not feasible at the moment as broadband rollout has not been completed, but I would draw your attention to Ofcom's report 'Broadcasting in the Digital Age', which states:

'Our analysis shows that the DTT platform will remain uncontested for free-to-air TV for
at least the next ten years. While most broadcasters expect in the long term to migrate
fully to the internet, that is not feasible today. Broadband networks are not yet of
sufficient quality to support universal HD streaming and more than 40 per cent of TV sets
cannot yet connect to broadband. So, for broadcasters and viewers alike, DTT will remain
important for some time. Our earlier work had suggested that there would be strong
competition from mobile companies for the valuable airwaves, or spectrum, that underpin
DTT. But mobile demand has substantially diminished as investments in 5G require
spectrum at higher frequencies.'

The Netflix debt that you refer to is due mainly to the incredible investment they have made in creating original material. However, the BBC already has a huge library of programmes to draw on and so does not need that level of investment.

There is no reason why the BBC cannot be split in the way I have suggested. Britbox is already funded by advertising, as is the new ITVX service due to be launched later this year.

The changes are already falling into place right here, right now, but some still cannot see it. They don't want to see it.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Why not?

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Which one, or do you mean all of them are no longer needed, entertain perhaps :confused::erm: it's not as if people need to be educated these days !!!!!

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Because we now have multi-channel TV and a huge selection of entertainment on streamers, many of which are now looking at ad-free options.

It was different when there was only one channel.

---------- Post added at 19:25 ---------- Previous post was at 19:23 ----------

Are you suggesting that no channel other than the BBC is capable of educating?

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Not in regards to tv?

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Because 100 years ago there were no channels, then there was one and it was an essential service, now its one amongst many getting special treatment that's no longer needed.

Because there's dozens of channels seeking to entertain, educate and inform, not really sure why that's so confusing, try changing the channel or better yet switch it off.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

Re: BBC licence fee
 

No its hundred of channels trying to make money and attract advertisers. They don't care about educating or informing.

Will commercial broadcasters be interested in making programmes that aren't profitable, take risks and aren't made by others ? No they won't. We'd get a lot more imports/crap tv.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

It's a happy by-product. The quality and diversity of documentaries on Sky, Netflix & Prime far and away outstrip what the BBC produce.

Well you obviously either do not subscribe to Prime, Netflix etc, or you have never used the search fucntion.

Re: BBC licence fee
 

Succinctly put Mr P, when that argument fails they'll wheel out what terrific value for money it is, ignoring that if you don't watch it or rarely watch it then it's not so terrific value at all

Re: TV licence fee
 

It all depends on your personal definition of 'entertainment' as to whether the BBC, Netflix, Amazon etc are worth paying for.

Personally I'm of the opinion that 95% of it is all garbage, but we still have a TV license and Netflix subscription because the women of the house can't do without their soaps, Ant & Dec, the odd (literally) series fresh from american TV, and '4 in a bed Masked singers Dancing on ice taking part in celebrity quiz shows' . . . and funnily enough they know (and have no interest in) bugger all else that's happening worldwide.

Re: TV licence fee
 

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/curren...fee-abolished/

The government seems more determined to abolish the licence fee now. Hopefully, they will opt for the subscription model so that we only pay if we actually watch BBC television.

Radio is more of a problem because it will continue to broadcast from transmitters for the foreseeable future. Expect to see advertisements on BBC radio stations before long.

Re: TV licence fee
 

I’ve said it n-million times before, but if they don’t see a need to force any other public service broadcaster behind a paywall, they won’t do it to the BBC either.“licence fee = subscription” is just loose thinking. It won’t happen.

Thanks to the white paper link you put in the other thread, we can now see that going forward the government plans to radically reduce the costs associated with being a PSB by allowing the obligations to be fulfilled via online content rather than during scheduled broadcasts. In other words, a BBC sans licence fee should still be able to produce a comparable amount of free-to-air content, supported by advertising, as it does now, because the regulations defining what they have to do (and therefore pushing up the costs of doing it) are being slackened.

There are still enormous risks of course. If the licence fee goes, the BBC will compete for advertising spend against ITV, Five and a newly-privatised Channel 4. Whenever supply of something increases, its cost goes down. In this case the supply of advertising time would go up, by a lot. Great news for the likes of Kelloggs and Persil, but not so good for broadcasters whose business models rely on ads sold at the present rate.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Indeed. You can be sure that none of the commercial broadcasters want the BBC to start taking ads.

As well as the reasons that Chris has highlighted, I think that the BBC would be very successful at attracting advertisers, one reason being that they may well be able to target those who only or mainly watch the BBC who hitherto haven't been exposed to TV advertising.

Re: TV licence fee
 

I won't miss the BBC.


Only stuff like QI, Have I got a bit more news fore you and Mock the week MTW is so good now that the woke brigade got Frankie Boyle removed.

Re: TV licence fee
 

I’m sure the BBC is going nowhere. It is mainly the method by which it is funded that is being debated here.

I am inclined to think that in the end, BBC television will be the BBC I-Player or a streaming successor, which will be viewable with a subscription, but with an AVOD option. I see no reason at all why that won’t work.

Of course, we would need to have universal broadband, which could become free of charge up to a set limit, before that could be implemented.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Re: TV licence fee
 

Re: TV licence fee
 

Put BBC behind a optional paywall and see how many choose to use it . Instead of making everyone go behind a " paywall"

Re: TV licence fee
 

that is exactly what we need and what I have been arguing for for donkeys years

Re: TV licence fee
 

Erm, he left because he was bored with it, and it wasn’t the "woke brigade" that objected about his jokes about the Queen…

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebri...it-mock-794978

Re: TV licence fee
 

Re: TV licence fee
 

All programs I have never watched ,given to understand that it's is all scripted . Honestly the last UK based comic I found funny was Dave Allen , USA is even worst , guess it was Victor Borg but did never missed Rowen and Martin's laugh in :D and yes would sign up of BBC,sorry guys guess it is near the most watched alone with HGTV and Alibi :D

Re: TV licence fee
 

No, it isn’t - I have taken part (as one of the online audience) twice, and it takes three hours to record each show, which they then edit down to thirty minutes.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Hardly off the cuff then, it's all scripted to a degree at least, even if it's just giving people the questions or subjects the night before to go over, actually scripted is harsh but it's certainly set up

See the BBC are being criticised for reporting facts again, Man Utd are rubbish appeared on the news ticker this morning for several minutes apparently

Re: TV licence fee
 

From what I saw, it was off the cuff, but they edited it to show the best off the cuff bits.

Re: TV licence fee
 

There is absolutely no way editing for length can be equated to scripting. You can’t use the editing process to change the sense of someone’s original comments. At the least that’s a breach of the editors code and at worse it can open you to a defamation action.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Some truth at last...:D

Re: TV licence fee
 

BBC4 and CBBC are set to close

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a40115...annels-closed/

Re: TV licence fee
 

Back in 1993 I worked at Lakeside Country club and we had Bob Monkhouse for a week. First night there appeared to be a lot of off the cuff but by the end of the week I knew his act as well as he did. It was the same every night.
No editing involved.
He used to ask audience members their name and twist his reply to suit his script.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Sorry have no idea how to copy paste via tablet but Google i"s mtw scripted "and the answer seems to yes at least at some point in the past " mock the week is scripted say Ross noble ," metro news ,also Alan Davies in daily mirror and these are top five in my search :D

Re: TV licence fee
 

Ross Noble or Alan Davies have never appeared on Mock the Week…

The headline in the Mirror article doesn’t match the body of the text - they prepare material on subjects that may be discussed - that is not "scripted".


https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a86335...longevity-bbc/

If it’s scripted, why do they film three hours, then edit it down to 30 minutes?

Re: TV licence fee
 

Re: TV licence fee
 

Not really close, they're going 'online'. Crap decision especially for BBC4 whose viewers are most likely to value linear TV. You can get rid of BBC1 and 3 if needed, as far as I'm concerned, and keep 2 & 4. Let all the other hundreds of channels do the downmarket crap.
Still if we don't want to pay any longer, then we end up with diddly squat.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Re: TV licence fee
 

With Have I Got News For You I thought it was generally understood that the host has their parts largely written but otherwise it's unscripted. The guests however obviously know what'll be in the news and prepare stuff in advance, I am pretty sure this happens because their jokes are sometimes stilted and don't quite fit into the natural flow of the dialogue.

Mock the Week is the most obvious here because you see comedians find a way to get in their previous material.

QI guests have confirmed they get a heads up about what'll be in the show but it's also unscripted. One or two guests have been said to have had the actual questions in advance but it's not common.

---------- Post added at 22:16 ---------- Previous post was at 22:13 ----------


I would add Radio 1 (how can you not, it's their biggest one!) and BBC Radio 5 Live to that as well as BBC News and also the regional radio stations which is probably amongst the more important work the BBC do as a national broadcaster.

But otherwise the BBC don't need any other TV channels IMO. Move more stuff online.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Well, I must have been watching and enjoing diddly squat for over 10 years then.
Obviously you think you are superior to anyone who doesn't watch BBC content.
AKA an entitled asshole.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Bit uncalled for old chap, we all have different tastes. Not my fault yours are downmarket.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Not sure what you saw in his comments to get you all in a lather, fwiw I agree with him entirely beebs 2 and 4 are the two channels i enjoy most as well. Guess I must also be a superior entitled *********



*(we're not American yet).

Re: TV licence fee
 

Is there any news to if and when the TV license is to be scrapped?

What i don't understand is we pay more and more for the license fee and BBC still close down services. Where does all the money go?

If they were to switch to advertising for revenue then i do think they will make more money.

Re: TV licence fee
 

With the licence free frozen and inflation of 10% services have to be cut to balance the budget.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Hell NO!

Re: TV licence fee
 

Re: TV licence fee
 

In real terms its income has gone down 25% since 2010.
https://www.vlv.org.uk/news/bbc-real...as-in-2010-11/

Not so long ago it only provided 2 tv channels, now it provides:- Attachment 29936

People never like paying, but for 43p a day it's a steal compared to Sky /Virgin or what a sub based service would cost.

Re: TV licence fee
 

Maybe so, but only because they are stealing money from people who don’t want their services.

What would you say if the government took your money to fund Netflix?

Re: TV licence fee
 

Not comparable Netflix is a purely entertainment existing purely for profit. The BBC is a public service broadcaster making programmes and providing services others don't as they don't make money.

Re: TV licence fee
 

When Netflix is a Public Service Broadcaster, seen as one of the worlds most trusted news providers, and commissions and broadcasts free educational material during health crises, that comparison may be valid, but until then, it’s false equivalence - but you knew that…