BBC licence fee to be reviewed by Conservatives

[DerekDuvale]

Originally Posted by pip08456

No 10 tells BBC licence fee will be scrapped

About time too!

Link

Best thing the government have done in years

Get rid of the TV tax

[Sephiroth]

This article raised an eyebrow with me. It's about what other countries do v.a.v TV licence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26546570

[Jimmy-J]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[adzii_nufc]

Originally Posted by Mr K

You're in the minority. Fanboys of Star Trek/ the Expanse etc, are a tiny fraction of the the viewing figures the BBC gets. BBC1 had 55 million watched

Yeah, no. The Witcher has only been out shy of two months is topping the 76 million mark, that's just a single show vs the entirety of BBC One as you've so wrongly based your argument on. Try again.

Regardless, fantastic news if it comes off.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by adzii_nufc

Yeah, no. The Witcher has only been out shy of two months is topping the 76 million mark, that's just a single show vs the entirety of BBC One as you've so wrongly based your argument on. Try again.

Regardless, fantastic news if it comes off.

Um, Mr K is talking about certified UK figures, you're talking of uncertified international figures.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Um, Mr K is talking about certified UK figures, you're talking of uncertified international figures.

l was just thinking late last night in that a digital subscription to one UK newspaper for over a year is £312-a-year and that is versus "everything" the BBC provides for £154.50.

Now which is the value Andrew?.

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by denphone

l was just thinking late last night in that a digital subscription to one UK newspaper for over a year is £312-a-year and that is versus "everything" the BBC provides for £154.50.

Now which is the value Andrew?.

Or Virgin Media/Sky subs which some are paying around £1000 a year for mostly repeated, advert ridden, imported content.

It's political cobblers from the swivel eyed loony right that will backfire. There were equal claims of bias from the left at the last GE. No doubt Mr Murdoch is pulling Bozzas strings too. See some more level headed Tories are having a bit of a wobble about it.

The Conservative party risks losing voters if it continues its "vendetta" against the BBC, senior Tories have warned amid a mounting backlash.

Last night backbench MPs threatened to oppose reported plans by the government to scrap the licence fee and replace it with a subscription model.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics...detta-against/

[papa smurf]

Once license tax is decriminalised i certainly won't be paying it.
It's time for the BBC to sink or swim under it's own steam,i don't see why they can't use adverts to pay for it,i would not pay to watch the bbc when there are so many free to air channels.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Mythica

That wouldn't attract a fee. The licence is to cover watching/recording live TV as it is broadcast.

It would attract a fee because the device (the TV) is capable of receiving broadcast transmission.

I'm happy to pay to not watch 20 minutes of ads per hour long segment..At least on the BEEB an hour long program is actually that long unlike on commercial channels.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by Ramrod

Ah, but they aren't just paying to watch the BBC. They are paying to watch any live TV.

Whilst you are correct, it should be emphasised that practically all the money raised from the licence fee actually goes to the BBC. Other terrestrial channels are funded by advertising and all pay TV channels are funded by subscription and advertising. PPV is paid for on a programme by programme basis. The fact that under existing legislation you need a licence to watch all live TV is irrelevant. The existence of the BBC is the only reason why a licence fee is necessary in the first place.

What people are objecting to is the forced requirement to pay for the BBC whether they want to use its services or not. Unfortunately, it is not easy to introduce a subscription model while these channels are transmitted through the airwaves as they are now, because there is no method by which channels accessed via an aerial can be switched off if a subscription is not paid under such a system.

For this reason, a subscription model is unlikely to be introduced in this decade. A possible way around this in the meantime is:

1. All the BBC TV channels are made available through IPTV, satellite and cable with payment by subscription. In my view, it would make sense to upload all content onto a streaming service and categorise them rather than segregate them into channels, but that would be a matter for the Beeb.

2. Terrestrial broadcasts are limited to a small range of entertainment and documentary programmes on just one BBC channel but with an emphasis on national and regional news. This would be a temporary arrangement until the transmitters are switched off. Only selected BBC produced content would appear on this channel. The terrestrial BBC channel would be paid for partially from the public service broadcasting fund raised from general taxation and partially from their pay tv revenues. Of course, advertising would be a means of improving the range of content, but this could reduce the incentive for people to use the money they currently spend on their licence fee on the new BBC subscription.

3. A grant for public service broadcasting, as determined by the government, would be available for all channels under a bidding process once the terrestrial BBC channel is closed down.

4. All BBC radio stations would carry advertisements or be disbanded. The new Sky radio channel that has been mooted to carry Radio 4-style programming ensures that alternatives to BBC radio stations are available commercially elsewhere if advertising is anathema to the BBC.

Those people who are convinced that almost everyone uses BBC services one way or another should not be concerned that people might not voluntarily pay for a BBC subscription. The government could smooth the way by allowing the Beeb to simply convert existing licence fee taxpayers to subscribers, placing the onus on customers to cancel (rather than have people actually apply to subscribe).

Whatever method is chosen (because I have described only one way of dealing with it), the government must address the public desire to abolish the licence fee. The current threats the government is making to the BBC are designed to get them thinking proactively about this. The government is not kidding. It wants to see real change.

[buckeye]

The Royal Charter isn't going to end until 2027,
the world is going to be a very different place then and alternative thinking needs to be applied to funding the BBC.
By then pretty much every device we will be consuming media on will be a connected device.
My initial thoughts on BBC funding towards the end of this decade is to have a 2 step funding, a subscription and free model.
The free model would involve the BBC being able to monetise all data it collects on users of that tier a la Google, Facebook et all.
The subscription model would opt out of all data collection from them.
That way there would still be no need for the BBC to carry adverts and allow the status quo to continue for the other traditional broadcasters to sell advertising and not drive any of them into the wall because the BBC is stealing revenue from them.

I'm sure over the next 7 years other revenue streams will present themselves as technology progresses to provide funding for the BBC and think this is possibly the last decade we will have the license fee as we know it.

[Mythica]

Originally Posted by Pierre

It would attract a fee because the device (the TV) is capable of receiving broadcast transmission.

The offence is watching/recording live TV as it is broadcast and or watching BBC iPlayer. The fact the TV or any device for that matter is capable of receiving broadcast transmissions isn't part of the law.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

This article raised an eyebrow with me. It's about what other countries do v.a.v TV licence.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26546570

Spoiler alert: Article is six years old.

[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Spoiler alert: Article is six years old.

I shouldn't think much has changed.