[tweetiepooh]

The BBC should not be funded by any mechanism the government or any other external body has control over.
The license fee, which isn't really that much, covers radio and TV broadcasting and programme making. The point of the license is that it allows the BBC to make programmes that are potentially non-commercially viable (and advertising TV to make sure the BBC doesn't just produce such programming).
As license payers, the BBC is responsible to us, and it it there it has missed the ball. Rising costs mean the BBC feels unable to justify broadcasting some sporting events, and rising production costs unable to want to take chances as much. The BBC also needs to get it courage up and sometimes be unpopular, with both government and populace.