[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by Mr K

Cobblers as usual OB !

The fee was frozen for years. Then the Govt. made the BBC pay for the rich Tory pensioners licences - instead it needs to be free/subsidised for those on Income Support.

Scrap the fee and it would just become another commercial channel producing little new or original. At £12 a month for mostly original content its a bargain, compared to VM/Sky subscriptions. I would gladly sell my kidneys to save the BBC (well maybe just the one )

No, it's not 'cobblers', Mr K. Whether the licence fee has been frozen for a few years or not, the common complaint is that it's inefficient and expensive. Another is that whether or not you watch BBC TV or radio programmes, you still have to pay for it.

I am not suggesting the BBC should show commercials. I said the licence fee should be scrapped in favour of a subscription at the same price, and the income should be topped up and the current level surpassed with a premium channel and/or streaming services for a separate additional subscription.

Your kidneys are safe with me.

---------- Post added at 18:48 ---------- Previous post was at 18:46 ----------

Originally Posted by Skie

If I could opt-out of paying for the Tory supporting news I'd jump at the chance.

Tories are right wing, not left wing, Skie. You got that a bit muddled!

---------- Post added at 18:49 ---------- Previous post was at 18:48 ----------

Originally Posted by pip08456

I don't see the point of spending £12pm for something I never watch. I don't mind paying a subscription for something I do or will watch.

Agreed. It's simply an unjust arrangement.

---------- Post added at 19:01 ---------- Previous post was at 18:49 ----------

Originally Posted by BenMcr

The problem with the subscription option for the BBC is that to that you'll then have to put the BBC content behind some form of broadcast restriction for it to work. I wouldn't even know how you'd do that for radio.

So potentially you could end up with ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 on Freeview, but the BBC channels not.

So to turn the BBC into a subscription service would require a complete rethink of the PSB channels in the UK, what is 'free to view' and how.

It's also not only the BBC that gets funding from the licence fee - S4C is due to get all of it's funding from it shortly https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-43569372

I agree that public service broadcasting needs to be re-thought. However, if ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are all free to view on Freeview but BBC is on subscription only, I don't see that as a problem if some people don't want to pay for it. If they don't watch it now anyway, the outcome is no different.

We have been told that in the medium term, all the terrestrial TV channels will be delivered over the internet - you will no longer be able to receive channels through an aerial. I presume that radio will go the same way, and therefore it will be possible to block TV and radio stations from non-subscribers.

If the Government of the day wants to pay any broadcaster to schedule in public service broadcasting, it would still be able to pay them for doing so. So S4C and local programming would still be safe.