Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen
Hopefully if Ireland does it then ours will get looked at again.
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I suspect in the long run we will end up with a public service fund that broadcasters can bid for cash from in order to make programmes that fulfil their remit. Probably still tilted towards the BBC but not exclusively. They have crossed the rubicon already by funding S4C out of the licence fee (it has always been publicly owned but was originally envisaged as operating on commercial terms like Channel 4).
I suspect they will also move away from the concept of a licence fee which is increasingly hard to justify along the original lines, which was as a permit to operate radio receiving equipment. The semantic gymnastics in the present TV licence, allowing them to cover broadcast, and anything streamed live, but only catch-up if it’s on the iPlayer, is a bit silly.
My guess is that ultimately it is going to start coming direct from the general tax take, with an arms-length regulator like Ofcom handed the funds and empowered to distribute them.