Should the BBC licence fee be replaced with a compulsory utility bill charge?

[FunStork]

The BBC has acknowledged that the licence fee is no longer fit for purpose, and the chair of the BBC says she wants the money to be a tax that's paid out of utility bills, ensuring everyone pays it.

Do you think this is a good idea or not?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20yjjm7n87o

I agree with this too.

There are lots of groups that the BBC has systematically discriminated against and spread misinformation about. Why should they pay to be abused?

It's not just I don't want to pay for the BBC because I prefer other platforms, I am actively opposed to the BBC. I dislike their unaccountable power, their harassment of people who've done nothing wrong, particularly vulnerable people, and the misinformation they spread. I think there is a wealth of evidence they have actually harmed people in real life, and I am morally opposed to this.

I am morally opposed to paedophilia (a crime in the UK, at least on paper) and I think they have covered this up and have failed to respond adequately to my many complaints about framing child abuse as 'child porn' or 'sex work' which I think is actively harmful to the rights of children. They dismissed Savile's victims and covered up many red flags about him. It's not ok. People are offended by Epstein, rightly so, but we have no way at all to demand accountability there because it's all based in the US. What we can do is say 'no more' to our state broadcaster who definitely are Trump-adjacent (someone they actively smear) in their looking the other way.

They haven't even covered Rupert Lowe's rape gang inquiry which is definitely news and which surely should be mentioned, even if they're not a fan of RL himself. It's state censorship. This is their piss poor response:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaint/inquiryfindingsrupertlowe

Does anyone want to take bets on when the supposed 'official' inquiry takes place because I think they might be aiming for about 2040 at this rate. And I note many survivors walked out of the 'official' inquiry due to feeling they were being used as part of a cover up. https://rotherabray.co.uk/survivors-quit-grooming-gangs-inquiry-over-cover-up-fears/

Gosh not watching Wimbledon tennis or half of the World Cup? You never listen to Radio 4 or the other stations? @Darragonthere are public broadcasting stations in other countries.
But the BBC is huge.
And of course the reason the licence fee is ‘broken’ was not covered in the article.
I’m happy to pay the licence fee. From Dr Who, Fawlty Towers, Planet Earth, Pride and Prejudice, Flea Bag, Wolf Hall and recently The Other Bennet Sister, just to name a few, it has produced excellent entertainment. And my kids loved CBeeBies.
Currently if you don’t watch live TV you don’t have to pay. This seems the most sensible. And even though stations like ITV don’t get any money from the fee but it still has to be paid if watching ITV (and other commercial stations) live, it’s the BBC that pays for the majority of building and maintenance of the infrastructure that allows TV to be broadcast (transmission towers etc). So ITV and other commercial networks would have to pay millions themselves if the BBC didn’t exist (BBC pays upwards of £200million annually to do this).
Now there is a move for going completely internet only transmission, therefore the £200m plus would not be needed. This is the crux of the matter. Why shouldn’t commercial stations get a slice of the fee if viewers are being charged to to watch and the BBC no longer has to pay for maintenance of the infrastructure?

@Ginnyweasleyswand Excellent post

I actually believe that many people could bring a court case against paying taxes to the BBC on the basis they discriminate against certain groups on their protected characteristics. (based on the Equality Act 2010). How they haven't been brought to court before I don't know.

Actually I do, it's because they mostly punch down on those less powerful.

Who knew I'd be rooting for Trump to win his defamation lawsuit. Whatever you think of Trump, the BBC actively editing his speech right before a US election is the UK state broadcaster trying to alter the course of a foreign democratic election. If Putin was doing this via Russian state media and trying to interfere in our elections by spreading misinformation about one side only right before an election people would be up in arms! BBC activists have got out of control and behave in a terrifyingly totalitarian way with apparently absolutely no consequence whatsoever. The only solution is to scrap the whole thing IMO.

Pretty much any decent BBC content that I'd want to watch ends up on Amazon prime eventually. Which is in fact cheaper than the yearly license fee (plus free delivery!)

people always trot out 'Planet Earth' as a pinnacle of broadcasting ( 20 years old) as if National Geographic channel didn't exist !

Its very easy to live without 'Aunty' telling us what to think

@mondaytosunday £200 million is a drop in the ocean when their annual income is hitting 6 billion

Nah they can go to subscription like everyone else.

Why should I pay when I don’t watch or listen to it.

If the bbc is so great then it will have no problem going to subscription will it 🙃

I haven't had a tv for 27 years. Despite completing the form that tv licensing send out periodically, they clearly don't believe us. We've now had a very aggressively worded letter saying that we will be getting a visit. That's fine, we've nothing to hide. I genuinely wouldn't mind paying if we had one, but why should we have to pau if we don't??

@highlandponymummy I would love a visit from a Capita salesperson wearing a Temu stab vest, sadly despite many empty promises I have never had one

I do love the online skits.

You’ve a tv so you need a license.
But I don’t watch tv.
But you could so just incase.

I also have milk in the fridge but not a cow in the garden 🤣🤣 I don’t register the land just incase I decide to buy one.

Whole heartedly agree with everything you’ve said.
That friggin’ Flash advert with the AI generated white dog. And then that advert for a cruise with the same background song for the last 4 years.
Having said that, Homes under the hammer (BBC) is on its 28TH SEASON!!

I do doubt all these people who say ‘never watch BBC’ are being completely honest.

edited for typos.

Our tv doesn’t even get put on till dh gets home.

At which point he will Netflix or prime some boring cooking tv show or if I’m lucky some Alaskan outback or wilderness type show.

Never even opened the Iplayer app on the tv since we don’t have a license and it’s not plugged into an aerial to get tv channels.

My mum sometimes tells me stuff about Eastenders that’s as close to a bbc tv show I come to but I’d rather she didn’t either as I can’t believe such things like Eastenders and corrie are even still going. Things my granny watched when I was little.

@Tableforjoan they really are such silly little wannabes aren't they ? I would love to submit a Goon Video to Chilli John

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@Tableforjoan i LOVE Homestead Rescue and Alaskan Bush People !

Have you watched Alaska the last frontier? I follow Eiven and Eve on Facebook 😅

I liked port protection as well that’s in Disney+

Matt was found dead recently from ABP.

The BBC has done well to reach this age, but no, I don't want to pay for a service I hardly use. It doesn't represent me, appears biased, no idea who most of it's programmes are aimed at. I used to loved radio 2 and 4, not listened to in ages. Time to go.

It's ridiculous to say you doubt people don't watch the BBC - some people are obviously stuck in the past.

I have Netflix, Prime, Disney+, I also watch several youtube channels. Anything BBC I want to watch ends up on Prime or Netflix eventually, for less money.

I don't have to watch ads for any of these. All the subscriptions together end up less than the license fee and I have more content than I can possibly watch in a hundred years, which is also constantly being renewed and new programs added.

If I want something specific I can almost always buy it on Prime for a few quid. Though they're a bit shit on old French films, but you can't have it all.

No young people i know watch BBC, ITV or any of the terrestrial channels at all. Before we got Netflix one of my children accused us of being neglectful because 'literally everyone else has it'.

It does seem the government is rather sad there's no longer one channel whereby they can brainwash tell people what to think, but that ship has very much sailed.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/critics-slam-proposals-to-force-youtube-to-prioritise-bbc-on-youtube-as-state-censorship/articleshow/132247477.cms

The blackbelt barrister has just put up a video about this.

I know that the BBC would much prefer I watch their doctored Trump videos, and content describing male rapists as 'she' as well as antisemitism and outright lies, but I prefer critical thinkers who at least give the impression of having an evidence base and some integrity, and some tenuous grasp of material reality, thanks. Who don't treat their viewers like gullible idiots.

Or just pure entertainment without an agenda when I want that.

I do find the times of india is a great news source on things in the UK, by the way - very much an outside view. The comments are also often hilarious.

@Tableforjoan I have Discovery + not Disney so I've not seen them, there are so many excellent outdoor/adventure shows on and like @Ginnyweasleyswand said upthread in response to the poster accusing people of being liars there are is absolutely no need to watch the BBC, it has little or no interest for millions of people. I am furious that I am unable to delete the iPlayer App from my TV as don't want to see their stupid little logo on my list 😡 such is the level of my contempt for them.

Of course not. They can f* off.

Its interesting that this has come up at the same time as a push to make those paying for subscription streaming services to pay extra to pay for the bbc.

It makes me wonder if this is cover story so tha they can push the other through.

So how do you pay for your utilities when you don't watch TV. Or are you assuming everyone does? Because I don't - but I still use utilities.

It’s not OP assuming this. It will be our left wing government that wants this, probably Lisa Nandy. They are the ones wanting this but people seem to want them

I don’t think they should be trying to squeeze any more money out of people after they spent years lying about those stupid van detector things.