Will the Tories do Murdoch's bidding and kill off the BBC?

Originally Posted by soicky

My reply was to the thread title.

OK but if you didn't want to confuse others perhaps a more comprehensive reply would have avoided that possibility.

[slowcoach]

Let's wait to see what Rothschild promised Mandelson in return for cracking down on music and film piracy.....

[Flyboy]

Originally Posted by punky

Who says it has to?

Why not let the people who want to watch it commercial free stump up £142/year and the ones who don't want to watch it or don't mind commercials to watch it free.

With digital broadcasting and mediums like VM and Sky it really isn't impossible to do.

Simples.

So, do the ones who have paid the licence fee just close their eyes when the ads come on?

---------- Post added at 00:26 ---------- Previous post was at 00:24 ----------

Originally Posted by slowcoach

Let's wait to see what Rothschild promised Mandelson in return for cracking down on music and film piracy.....

But music and film piracy is theft. Why should some geek hacker get to watch movies for free and others have to pay for it?

Technically it is not theft feel free to go and visit your local police station and ask them . I resent paying the licence fee when the bbc is barely watched all year in our house and i don't quite support the quality argument either as you can see just as much tosh on the bbc as you can the others.

Do i think cameron will kill it off no i don't what i do think is that he will do away with automatic rises for the licence and maybe even introduce a cut in the fee but not kill it off. Why the bbc deserve the special protection they have is beyond me and being honest i have no problem with them having to compete in the commercial arena same as all the others.

If the audience is big enough for any subject it will be catered for as there will be sufficient revenue from it but keeping the bbc because they can cater to everyone and everything without a worry about the money side of it is not fair.

Originally Posted by RizzyKing

Technically it is not theft feel free to go and visit your local police station and ask them . I resent paying the licence fee when the bbc is barely watched all year in our house and i don't quite support the quality argument either as you can see just as much tosh on the bbc as you can the others.

Do i think cameron will kill it off no i don't what i do think is that he will do away with automatic rises for the licence and maybe even introduce a cut in the fee but not kill it off. Why the bbc deserve the special protection they have is beyond me and being honest i have no problem with them having to compete in the commercial arena same as all the others.

If the audience is big enough for any subject it will be catered for as there will be sufficient revenue from it but keeping the bbc because they can cater to everyone and everything without a worry about the money side of it is not fair.

Well one day you will probably get your wish and if you think TV is tosh now you will find out this was the golden era of TV...

I shan't care as I'm planning to be dead by then..especially if I have end up relying on what passes for commercial TV because of your resentment at paying for a publicly funded tv station.

But then why pay your taxes for schools,roads,hospitals,street lighting and especially those parts of the town/infrastructure that you don't use..

Please don't try and use that argument Maggy because it is not the same and your well aware of that. Taxes are paid because in oneway or another we all benefit by a far greater margin then we all benefit by all paying the licence fee. Times change and things move on but the bbc isn't at anywhere near the same pace and the reason is because they have a nice cocoon called the licence to always gaurantee their revenue.

How about we charge all non sky\vm customers something so they can subsidise that for those of us that have it and yes it is the same thing. I am all for paying for what i use and what i make use of but that argument simply cannot be used in relation to the bbc. I don't want to see the end of the bbc but i do think they can manage on less money then they currently take from every household in the UK.

Originally Posted by Angua

Happy to pay the licence fee provided we still have the BBC. Superb value for money when compared to any other paid service (which mostly have ads as well as being charged for).

Would loathe and detest wall to wall adverts, constant soaps or reality TV shows.

Same here, do people really think that the licence fee will be dropped if any Government decides to get rid of the BBC? It's another easy cash cow for the Conservatives like Railtrack.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by ArronC07

You can always not own a TV.

Why should we have to go without a TV because we don't want to watch the BBC. At the moment i have no choice other than pay a tax on the BBC or not pay the tax to the BBC and then be barred from owning or operating a TV for channels that are free of the tax. Bit unfair if you ask me.

Bit like saying everyone must pay for a box of widgets even if you have no intention of using them.

---------- Post added at 06:42 ---------- Previous post was at 06:41 ----------

Originally Posted by Nidge

Same here, do people really think that the licence fee will be dropped if any Government decides to get rid of the BBC? It's another easy cash cow for the Conservatives like Railtrack.

Or any other party

[Angua]

Originally Posted by martyh

the way i see it is if the beeb doesn't get license fee money they will have to advertise like the other channels efectively meaning the end of the bbc ,and there's only so much advertising revenue to go round so i would say that the beebs revenue will fall through the floor and leave them no choice but to show repeats and trashy reality shows if they survive a tall

More likely ITV, CH4 & 5 will suffer as the BBC would take a huge amount of advertising revenue because of its content.

[LondonRoad]

Personally I think the licence fee represents great value for money. I'd happily pay more if it meant less political interference.

The quality and diversity of BBC's output couldn't be sustained if it relied on advertising revenue. You only have to look at what has happened to ITV.

The BBC will not be dismantled under a Tory government, and certainly not one led by David Cameron. Catch a bloody grip of yourselves people....

[punky]

Originally Posted by Flyboy

So, do the ones who have paid the licence fee just close their eyes when the ads come on?

Are you deliberately obtuse?

For some decades now we have had the ability to restrict channels on the basis of payment. It isn't rocket science. Have BBC Free with commercials or BBC commercial free on VM, Sky, Top-up TV for the extra £12 a month extra.

If people had to pay £142 to a state-owned airline before they were allowed to fly anywhere (regardless if they fly or with whom), noone would stand for it. Its a poll tax. If I don't want to watch the BBC I still have to pay for it. It goes against everything that's fair and equitable in a reasonable society.

[Horace]

We should abolish the NHS for the same reasons, I never use it so why should my taxes go to support it, if I ever need treatment I'll pay there and then. You'd think we lived in a society or something.

[ArronC07]

Originally Posted by RizzyKing

Technically it is not theft feel free to go and visit your local police station and ask them . I resent paying the licence fee when the bbc is barely watched all year in our house and i don't quite support the quality argument either as you can see just as much tosh on the bbc as you can the others.

Yeah but you still watch it though and you must appreciate that the BBC provides services for other people (you know those people who also live in the country but aren't in your immediate circle) that they find useful.

It's very simple, the BBC exists to provide a public service and that's paid for out of the licence fee and this protects them (mostly) from political interference. If you want to watch broadcast TV in this country you have to pay the licence fee to ensure public service TV is properly served. It's part of the social contract in this country- if you don't like it well no one is forcing you to own a TV...

Do i think cameron will kill it off no i don't what i do think is that he will do away with automatic rises for the licence and maybe even introduce a cut in the fee but not kill it off. Why the bbc deserve the special protection they have is beyond me and being honest i have no problem with them having to compete in the commercial arena same as all the others.

Because they are a public service provider who offer services to cater all tastes regardless of if their is money to be made from that or not? That's why they are the only broadcaster to provide home grown children's entertainment and programmes for the blind and deaf. Are you saying you resent paying towards an organisation that in todays market ensures that children and disabled people have programming and are catered for?

You're really THAT selfish?

If the audience is big enough for any subject it will be catered for as there will be sufficient revenue from it but keeping the bbc because they can cater to everyone and everything without a worry about the money side of it is not fair.

Maybe you could stop being so short sighted and stop thinking about yourself and perhaps try to see that the BBC is something that should be cherished and protected.

[ArronC07]

Originally Posted by RizzyKing

Please don't try and use that argument Maggy because it is not the same and your well aware of that. Taxes are paid because in oneway or another we all benefit by a far greater margin then we all benefit by all paying the licence fee. Times change and things move on but the bbc isn't at anywhere near the same pace and the reason is because they have a nice cocoon called the licence to always gaurantee their revenue.

How about we charge all non sky\vm customers something so they can subsidise that for those of us that have it and yes it is the same thing. I am all for paying for what i use and what i make use of but that argument simply cannot be used in relation to the bbc. I don't want to see the end of the bbc but i do think they can manage on less money then they currently take from every household in the UK.

If you want to make Virgin and Sky have public service commitments and allow everyone to watch those programmes produced under those commitments then go ahead- that's a great idea.

---------- Post added at 09:57 ---------- Previous post was at 09:52 ----------

Originally Posted by Sirius

Why should we have to go without a TV because we don't want to watch the BBC. At the moment i have no choice other than pay a tax on the BBC or not pay the tax to the BBC and then be barred from owning or operating a TV for channels that are free of the tax. Bit unfair if you ask me.

You do have a choice, you either accept that owning a TV in this country has a social contract attached to it and that is contributing to the national cultural well being by paying a licence fee to the BBC so that everyone who owns a TV has their interests catered for regardless of if there's profit to be made from it or not or you don't own a TV.

Bit like saying everyone must pay for a box of widgets even if you have no intention of using them.

Do those widgets add to and enrich the cultural life of this country regardless of if profit can be made from it? No? then that's a nonsense argument.

---------- Post added at 10:03 ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 ----------

Originally Posted by punky

Are you deliberately obtuse?

For some decades now we have had the ability to restrict channels on the basis of payment. It isn't rocket science. Have BBC Free with commercials or BBC commercial free on VM, Sky, Top-up TV for the extra £12 a month extra.

If people had to pay £142 to a state-owned airline before they were allowed to fly anywhere (regardless if they fly or with whom), noone would stand for it. Its a poll tax. If I don't want to watch the BBC I still have to pay for it. It goes against everything that's fair and equitable in a reasonable society.

I bet you DO watch the BBC though. It's not unfair and inequitable to have a strong BBC that's paid for out of the licence fee, it's what allows this country to punch above it's weight in terms of its TV output, it's what ensures that all tastes and all sectors of society are catered for with their programming.

The BBC is something to be proud off and it's one of the only things left to feel proud to be British. I genuinely feel that the BBC is so much part of our way of life that if you're against the BBC, you're against something that is so fundamental to what it means to be British.