To think it's a terrible idea to scrap the BBC licence fee?

[dellacucina]

Inspired by this article: www.google.com/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1242927/BBC-News-Boris-Johnson-license-fee-subscription-British-Broadcasting-Corporation/amp

I'm recently naturalised and I think that the BBC is part of what makes Britain special. It makes me very sad indeed to imagine it being cut down.

Yes and I hate them harassing the poor for license fee compliance. When DH and I were poorer and live in a less desirable postcode, we get threatening letters and license people at our door. Since we moved to a very middle class suburb, we only need to fill in the form online every 2 years, and we haven’t heard from them at all. It’s really disgusting they prey on the more vulnerable to get their license money.

If you are one of those who they don’t hassle, it could be your postcode,

Wow WTAF

I may have left something out. What do else you think they should show?

The whole point of a subsidised service like the BBC should be to produce and show British content, there are one thousand other ways we all get non-British content. 95% of all drama I watch (not on the BBC) is American.

It's should not be the job of the BBC to compete with Netflix in supplying us with american-made drama set in america, using money from people who may not even be watching their output.

Perhaps that's not what you meant. You really need to explain.

And the whole smoke and mirrors nonsense about detector vans ,they got away with that one for years !

Also have not watched BBC (or indeed ITV or Channel Four) for upwards of ten years. TBH I very rarely watch TV at all, but if I do, I live stream using Amazon Prime.

Absolutely. Consumer decides if they want it or not, and it thrives or survives on its success in the marketplace. And good luck to them for that - I think the dear old Beeb is hopelessly out of touch with what most ordinary people want and they’d learn that pretty quickly if people voted with their wallets.

We used to have Cbeebies & Iplayer going constantly. Now it's all Youtube and Netflix & Amazon prime.

Thelnebriati do people actually get sent to prison for this?
I assume the idea is deterrent effect.

@dellacucina Yes, women who cant pay the licence fee or the fine really are are sent to prison, and if they have no one to care for their children they are taken into care.
www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2019/07/237240/tv-licence-evasion-women

''women who dodge the charge are six times more likely to be jailed than if they were convicted of another ‘serious’ crime.''
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3262731/Licence-fee-jail-terms-not-fair-women-Government-fresh-pressure-overhaul-figures-six-times-likely-sent-prison.html

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/23/bbc-criminalising-thousands-young-people-failing-pay-licence/

The Tories love scrapping anything that benefits the public as a whole and doesn’t lead directly to profits for people like them. I actually find the BBC poor value for money. But that’s not why the Tories hate it, they hate the fact that they can’t intimidate it (that much) and that they can’t make it spew forth their words and worldview (that much). So, reluctantly, I have to support it. First they came for surestart, then they came for properly funded schools, then they came for libraries, then they came for public transport, disability allowance, then our EU rights to live, work and retire abroad and breeze through immigration, then the BBC. It just goes on and on. In 50 years we will just be a small and weak version of the US.

Do people genuinely never watch the TV?
I mean never watch channel 4? ITV.

I do, but that's not what the TV licence pays for. Which is why it's even more ridiculous and why a subscription service would be a better option.

I've not paid it in 7yrs and don't miss it

I watch channel 4. I don't watch live tv ever.

It is no longer a case of only needing a tv licence if you watch the BBC which used to be the case. You now need a TV licence to watch any live TV whatsoever even if you are watching live tv via a service you already pay a subscription for such as Sky, Now TV or Prime and are not BBC channels. You also need one to watch the BBC on catchup which never used to be the case.

If you don’t watch any live TV of any sort on any subscription or none subscription service and don’t watch BBC via iplayer then you do not need a TV licence however you do need to officially declare that you don’t need one with the reason why and you need to renew your declaration annually. If you follow these steps then there is no reason you should be hounded. You are hounded for not paying but failing to declare you do not need one.

These days I only ever watch Netflix which does not air any live tv. As a result I cancelled my TV licence stating I do not need one as I only watch Netflix. Result: no hounding. I know several people that have done the same. The issues only come when you stop paying but fail to formally notify them of cancellation of you licence with a valid reason why.

I think my levy idea is a much better than a subscription model, as it leaves everyone with access to the BBC. So, as long as it's output is good enough that lots of people want to watch it, we'll at least have that experience in common. Social cohesion would be one of the social benefits that would justify a subsidised service.

All the arguments in favour of scrapping the fee (which will win the day, no matter what) will be carefully recorded and then used to justify scrapping national insurance to allow people "the choice" of healthcare insurance provider, and finished off with scrapping of funding schools from taxation in the name of "choice". Any disagreements will be shut down by the logic of scrapping the license fee which people agreed to previously.

Full disclosure: I loathe the Tories.

But something that doesn't make sense to me is that people who supposedly are pro Britain/wanting to embrace the culture would want to scrap something that is culturally uniquely British and instead turn to subscription services that provide mostly American content.

@Cam77 I have lived here for about 10 years and I am always surprised by how much the UK seems to be chasing the American way of doing things.

The bbc is priceless. It generates so much good will abroad, quite apart from the radio & tv services in the UK. Plus the web site and the program generation. Plus it is a training ground for the uk’s world beating creative industry..

Getting rid of the licence fee and making it dependent on advertising revenue would be an incredibly stupid thing to do.
It cost less than 50p a day and is available to all. It’s probably the most inclusive medium we have.

I completely agree OP. You can't compare the BBC to Netflix and amazon prime. These companies only show content that appeal to the masses the BBC is so much more than that it is a service a strong, independent public service broadcaster is essential to any democracy and this is really an attack on that.

@SerendipityJane
Yep. It’s a very, very slippery slope. The Tories will never rest while there are still things to be cut. It’s an ideological fix for them. When Johnson says he will not bin the NHS he is telling the truth, because he wouldn’t be able to get away with it. Yet.

Getting rid of the licence fee and making it dependent on advertising revenue would be an incredibly stupid thing to do.
It cost less than 50p a day and is available to all. It’s probably the most inclusive medium we have.

This

The BBC have dumbed down immensely over the past 20 yrs.

Yes, their nature documentaries and radio out put is good but the rest? Who on earth is going to miss Cash in The Attic, The One Show or the news (where journalists from the BBC interview each other to explain stuff to the plebs). Homes Under the Hammer, Rip off Britain, Doctors - the list of unmitigated shite is pretty lengthy.

I would support scrapping the licence fee now. The turning point for me was the crappy coverage of the Diamond Jubilee flotilla where they cut away from showing the Queen's boat going under Tower Bridge to an interview, which could been done earlier or later.

I turned over. And turned off from the BBC.

I guess what I mean is that something that is culturally unique just may not generate as much revenue and therefore can't necessarily compete with international content-producing behemoths. Should it therefore die because people would rather watch American tv?

It’s a very, very slippery slope.

Well, we've already started, so strap in, enjoy the ride. See you all (well, the worthy ones) at the bottom. Don't worry, we'll have a soft landing - there will be all the people we threw out of the carriage on the way down to cushion us.

We always used to watch it, now we look up what is on and don’t. We pay for the licence fee because we are stupidly law abiding. We don’t watch - Eastenders, Football, dancing, singing, etc.

I would pay to see the wonderful Monty Don, Alice Roberts and other interesting programs. We watched the latest Paradise Island or what ever it is called it was dire. At least the much maligned Mrs Brown’s Boys is usually funny.

Radio 4 is so full of ‘issues’ I now rarely listen. The comedy is not funny and the drama too issue dominated. I listen to the Today program after I stopped due to the Brexit tedium. And the Archers .......

Getting rid of the licence fee and making it dependent on advertising revenue would be an incredibly stupid thing to do.
It cost less than 50p a day and is available to all. It’s probably the most inclusive medium we have

It'd be more inclusive if everyone had access to it on Freeview because it were funded by advertising revenue. Currently, it's only available if you can stump up £150...