Yes, the BBC licence fee is doomed. The interesting question is what happens when it’s gone?
by Stephen Tall on November 12, 2012
I first outed myself as opposed to the BBC licence fee six years ago. I still am.
But the debate interests me less these days because it’s inevitable the licence fee’s days are numbered: a regressive poll tax to subsidise the viewing pleasure of the middle-classes will not last forever.
What interests me more is what will happen when it goes. It’s a question I started thinking about in 2009:
The argument about the BBC licence fee is fast becoming a sterile one. It’s doomed, the only real question being: how much longer will it last? Far more important, I would suggest, is addressing the two fundamental questions of what we want from our broadcast media:
(1) how do we ensure – through regulation and/or public funding – the continuation of an independent, impartial, universal broadcast news service; and
(2) how do we ensure a level-playing field for the BBC and commercial channels which promotes healthy competition resulting in good-quality television and radio across a range of genres: from sports, to arts and culture, to drama and comedy, and news and current affairs.Too often the question of ‘whither the BBC licence fee’ becomes mired in a “I love/hate the BBC because…” quagmire in which favourite/meritricious BBC programmes are named to prove what good/bad value it all is. Yet the BBC licence fee is only a means to an end.
Originally its aim was to fund the introduction of an innovative service which has shaped and transformed society; after the founding of ITV, the licence fee ensured the market was balanced between public service and popular broadcasting. To expect that a universal poll tax funding a monpolostic organisation can continue to meet the expectations of a consumer society in a digital age is unrealistic.
7 comments
New from me > Yes, the BBC licence fee is doomed. The interesting question is what happens when it's gone? http://t.co/sKRog2im
by Stephen Tall on November 12, 2012 at 2:10 pm. #
New from me > Yes, the BBC licence fee is doomed. The interesting question is what happens when it's gone? http://t.co/sKRog2im
by Thorne Godinho on November 12, 2012 at 2:12 pm. #
New from me > Yes, the BBC licence fee is doomed. The interesting question is what happens when it's gone? http://t.co/sKRog2im
by Greg Stone on November 12, 2012 at 2:14 pm. #
I’ve read your posts carefully, but I’m not sure I understand what you want to replace the license-fee-funded BBC with. Do you want to privatise it? Do you want to make it state funded? Criticisms of the current system are only relevant if there is a better alternative.
by Christopher on November 12, 2012 at 5:03 pm. #
Yes, the BBC licence fee is doomed. The interesting question is what happens when it's gone? http://t.co/LlwBmEBI
by BexhillBattleLibDems on November 12, 2012 at 6:41 pm. #
Thanks for commenting, Christopher. I wouldn’t replace the BBC; I would end the licence fee. Those like me who want to watch it should pay directly to subscribe. Those who don’t want to shouldn’t have to pay a fee simply for owning a TV. As a first (less controversial) step, the BBC should be mutualised. There may also be a place for an independently funded news service, perhaps set up with endowment from sell-off of (eg) the 4G spectrum.
by Stephen Tall on November 12, 2012 at 6:49 pm. #
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