Quote:
Originally Posted by telegramsam
Well yes I don`t believe the licence fee should be compulsory. If you are paying a subscription to Virgin,Sky,or BT then why should you be Forced to pay for something i don`t care about watching? Those that want to watch it should be able to get it by paying for it through perhaps a smart card for their freeview boxes or as an additional cost through Virgin,Sky or BT. i`m sure it could easily be done except the BBC wouldn`t like it for the very simple reason they know how few people would actually want their channels!
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Your logic is faulty.
Sky is not a public service broadcaster. Nor is Nat Geo or BT. The BBC, ITV, C4 and C5, on the other hand ... these are PSBs, who have the right to occupy the top five EPG slots on all UK broadcast platforms in return for obeying certain requirements.
Amongst those requirements is that they accept the way they raise revenue is set down in law. For the BBC, by royal charter it is permitted to collect a licence fee from everyone who receives live TV broadcasts. For the others, they are permitted to run commercials (within certain limits). They are also forbidden to charge any kind of subscription.
The alternative funding model for the BBC, as a public service broadcaster, in the absence of a licence fee, is obvious: the other public service broadcasters, who are free to air and ad-supported, are the model, not special interest services like Sky etc.