To think they should scrap TV licence and advertise?

[pinkunicornsparkles]

I wouldn't care if there were adverts on the BBC. I would prefer it actually, so that I wouldn't have to fork out for a TV licence every year.

It's horses for courses just because some people think Attenborough documentaries are the best thing since sliced bread, and cbeebies amazing not everybody does my son preferred Nick Jr ,Cartoonite etc

The advertising demand isn't there. It would kill ITV and C4, and still not raise enough.

Nooo! leave it alone, curb its excesses on celeb presneter and some staff spending but it does work very well as it is.

It's dying a death anyway..The BBC need to get with the times. They are going to drown if they don't pull their heads out of their arses, stop being so bloody arrogant with their antiquated tax. We stopped watching live TV about 6 years ago. Netflix, Amazon Prime, catch up on ITV hub, My5, All4, YouTube and online news etc etc etc more than make up for what the BBC can offer.

I think they may well go towards a subscription model in future - they have the iplayer already so could make that a subcription service. I think that as they way we are watching TV is supposed to be changing.

I don't know if that would be enough to fund the radio services - I really like radio 4. and the on-line services might be lost.

It does feel like you get less and less for the money though that might be because it used to be a fantastic deal - but I don't think there is enough advertising money out there for it to go for adverts.

The advertising demand isn't there. It would kill ITV and C4, and still not raise enough.

Still waiting to hear the downside...

I think it should be a subscription service like Netflix. If not possible then i’d Be fine with adverts seeing as I only watch Call the Midwife.

I wonder just how long TV advertising as we know it can last. We’ve all become so used to paying for ad-free Netflix and Now TV etc. We get Sky boxes so we can record and FF through the ad breaks. Even ITV Hub have a thing where you can pay a subscription and see all the programmes ad free.

How is the advertising industry responding to all this fast forwarding through their expensively made adverts? Will it be more like the “this programme is sponsored by the Meerkats” or something?

Anyway, the Beeb already has plenty of advertising in between programmes - for their own shows.

I wouldn’t want to lose BBCFour or Radio 4 and I’m quite fond of the stuff on iPlayer that’s under the BBCThree umbrella.

Also, David Attenborough does plenty of shows for Sky now so...

I don't pay for a licence as it was no longer worth it to watch maybe 1 show per TV channel. 5 and itv have been crap for years and I only likes home shows and the TV was background noise. I like channel. 4 but can still the app which is on my TV and I don't have an aerial so it's definitely not live.

I got a roku and have so many channels and many as pointless as standard TV but perfect for background noise. For a one off payment of £19.

I watch lots of programs but for free online, I just need to make sure I don't use Iplayer or watch live programs. I'm happy to wait and not watch them live anyway as I like to watch entire series.

Cbeebies and cbbc are great and if I had little ones maybe. But I stopped paying for licence when my youngest was 8 and between online content, roku and now tv kids (3.99 per month) she has too much to watch. I also don't get it every month I can opt out if having a busy month or if the content has been watched until they add new content. I also like now tv movies and entertainment. I only get these when sent offers so it still costs less than a tv licence.

Honestly they do need to change their model. I saw something the other day that said people watching tv is going down every year. We don't at all, just Netflix/Amazon etc. It is the same with most younger people I know, all instagram/youtube instead of normal tv.

I don't watch the BBC at all or listen to any of their radio stations. My mother has just cancelled her license as she found the same. The way people watch television is changing so I do think they are being sensible by increasing the amount of time things can stay on iplayer.

I would prefer adverts - they are an opportunity to get up, pop the kettle on, move a bit or usually I just fast forward them

I know this may come as a shock to some people, but NO my kids did NOT watch cbeebies, because it was shit. They watched nickelodeon and Disney channel!

Despite what some people say, other channels are available ya know!!!

@hen10

YABU IMO but it's interesting to see how polarised the argument is. I can't imagine getting by with Netflicks, YouTube. Where do the 'never use BBC' people get their news and current affairs discussion from?

Are you actually being serious right now? Do you seriously believe this? That there is NO other medium to get your news and current affairs from than the BBC?

WTF is wrong with some people? Why are some people refusing to believe people who say they have no interest in the BBC and never watch or listen to it? Are you that narrow minded?

I could understand it if it was 1933, but it's not. It's 2019, and there are a MYRIAD of places to access news and current affairs and sports, and many brilliant TV shows and films.

Also, here's something that will shock the narrow-minded, and obstinate on here... DAVID ATTENBOROUGH DOES A DOCUMENTARY FOR NETFLIX!!!

It's called OUR PLANET! And it's brilliant.

Do you need a sit down now?

Maybe open your minds a little eh? There is much more out there than the boring old BBC!

As has been said, it needs to change to 'subscription only...'

I don't mind the existence of the TV license, I just wish they'd stop sending threatening letters and sending their thugs round. I don't have a driver's license either but I don't get people at my door accusing me of driving without one and making stuff up about detector vans.

I get you're still traumatized OP, but you have to take some responsibility. I saw the trailers and immediately knew I wasnt watching that shite.

The vast majority of BBC output is dumbed-down dross. Yes, there is the occasional brilliant program, but it's not enough to justify it's special treatment.

I am having real trouble trying to think of anything I regularly watch or listen to from the Beeb.

I sometimes switch on the TV in the morning whilst having my breakfast, but the BBC breakfast "news" is quite pathetic, I usually switch over to Sky news after a few minutes of "ad lib" jokes from the presenters.

I know this may come as a shock to some people, but NO my kids did NOT watch cbeebies, because it was shit. They watched nickelodeon and Disney channel!

Same here, my son preferred the Channel 5 "Milkshake" children's TV in a morning - far better, well made, programs rather than the Cbeebies rubbish. There was one program on Cbeebies he'd watch and that was "Come Outside" with Auntie Mabel and Pippin dog, but he really couldn't stand Balamory, Teletubbies, Night Garden, Shiny Show and the other pathetic mindless programs. He always wanted something real-world rather even at the youngest ages.

My tv doesn't even get BBC, ITV etc..

How is that even possible? Your tv is obviously broken.

*Where do the 'never use BBC' people get their news and current affairs discussion from?

Twitter mainly. Some Sky News. The odd newspaper*

For some it will only be Twitter, that well known bastion of impartiality.

OP YABU. The BBC isn't perfect but it's better than most of the alternatives.

YABU. I fear for my sanity if I have to put up with advertising coming at me from yet another direction.

As teens didn't they use BBC Bitesize to help with their school work?

Nope. My son used it a few times at Primary school, but it was pretty basic, generic stuff. In his first year at secondary, he tried to use it for homework/revision, etc., but he didn't get enough relevant info for the time he had to spend on it, so soon found other online resources which were far better, such as the massive amount of you tube videos posted up by teachers etc that he found far more relevant and quicker so he could work through more resources.

In your opinion Starbucks but thats the beauty of choice isn't it we can a 'll have different opinions about what we like watching .....

The BBC will be forced into change at some point.

Cancellations are up from previous years according the report in The Times earlier this year. (It's behind a paywall sorry www.thetimes.co.uk/article/viewers-ditch-tv-licences-as-netflix-effect-takes-hold-fj3lfgk9c). It also mentions evasions being up, as more people chance watching live TV without a licence. I don't know how it can keep funding its current model when there will be less cash coming through the door, unless it increases the fee which will only encourage more cancellations.

The reality is people now know more about the BBC than ever before. It is bloated and pays big salaries to 'talent'. It also employs Capita to collect the licence fee, in often a threatening manner via letters or home visits. It prosecutes for having no licence (criminal offence!!) which disproportionately affects the poor and women. We have been fed lies for years about the BBC/Capita's ability to demand access to our homes and monitor what we are watching. People don't like what they see and hear about the BBC. And whilst there are some good programmes on the BBC the above manner in which it conducts itself says alot.

Now people are turning to the alternatives (e.g. Prime and Netflix) as cheaper and more convenient options. With the obvious benefit of being able to cancel when you want. I think the BBC will struggle in years to come and we will see more of its activities cut anyway.

The BBC is not unbiased and is not hiding that fact any longer. I'm no longer happy to be paying not to watch it.

Adverts or subscriptions is the way forward.

BBC isn't perfect but it's better than most of the alternatives

I would hope nobody is stupid enough to only have one news source.