[Sephiroth]

In a civilised society, you'd want to have some sort of public broadcasting service, whether funded by general taxation (not preferred) or out of licence fee (which keeps guvmin interference away).

Let's say that the advertisers shift away from ITV and the like, who then have no sustainable business model; what would you be left with? The BBC with its guaranteed income. The BBC merely needs to cut its cloth to suit its resources.