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.

The BBC is meant to be the National Broadcaster. As such it is meant to be impartial. It isn’t. It is so left as to be unbelievable.

I lost it with BBC at the time of the Icelandic volcano eruption, when they were interviewing people and asking leading questions such as “Don’t you think the government has handled the repatriation of people badly”.

News 24 used to be my go to channel for News. I stopped watching it about 3 years ago because of the bias.

It’s time for the BBC to change to represent all viewers not just the lefties.

R4 comedy is pretty funny, if you are either a remainer (or a brexiteer with thick skin who can laugh at jokes about your intelligence and hatred of immigrants, which I am 99% of the time).

I love David Mitchell and he seems to crop up there a lot.

@DressesWithPocketsRockMyWorld OK, fair point, I will give you The News Quiz .

It's the same as so many thing though isn't it? Everyone pays for education because it's for the benefit of the country. Everyone should pay for the BBC for the same reasons.

I don’t miss bbc, haven’t watched since 2016 when rules changed

I have also given up with radio 2 early morning and tea time, but struggle to find something I do like

If

Everyone should pay for the BBC for the same reasons.

How is it for the good of the country?

YABU. I am thrilled they are getting rid of the BBC licence. It's saving me 150 a year.

I don't watch BBC or listen to their radio stations. I also don't think it is sustainable long term. There have been articles saying a lot of younger people don't watch TV full stop, it is all YouTube, Netflix, Amazon etc. In truth, I don't watch TV really either, just on demand type services.

I would be prepared to pay almost anything to still have Radio 4. I could live without the rest of the BBC, although I'd certainly rather not, but I would be more distraught than you could possibly imagine if Radio 4 were to cease to exist.

People do realise that the BBC is more than just strictly don’t they?

I would be more distraught than you could possibly imagine if Radio 4 were to cease to exist.

I could cope without radio 4 though I do listen to it, but the BBC licence thing is just completely out of step with modern times, and as for the stupid threatening letters 🙄

People do realise that the BBC is more than just strictly don’t they?

Yes, judging by the thread so far.

Everyone pays for education because it's for the benefit of the country. Everyone should pay for the BBC for the same reasons.

Well, the government are welcome to my £150 or whatever it is, if they spend it on something else, I personally fail to see how the BBC benefits the country as a whole. Anything with Laura Kuenssberg on it can't be good for the country!!

No you don’t get sent to prison, lol.
I work with people in debt all day everyday and tv license is always the biggest one and no one ever gets sent to prison. They’ll ‘caution’ (this is not a police caution!!!) you and take you to court, but worse case scenario they’ll take the money off your incoming benefits.

agree with a pp saying the BBC is already a commercial enterprise.

they could lose the fee, cut a lot of channels and probably still fund themselves!

Oh and fwiw I agree. I don’t want adverts interrupting my nasty eastenders indulgence!

never watch it ,probably have dish disconnected and not pay licence fee next time. Netflix and Amazon prime suits me, loads of ads on BBC Radio anyway,for their own programs

Perhaps the proms,which only appeals to a certain audience, could continue but become pay-per-view.

I don't object to the BBC being commercial but why do they need £150 from everyone who has a TV?

has anyone here tried not paying the fee and owning a TV? You'll have them appearing on the doorstep and/or sending letters every fortnight.

What I mean is what someone said upthread.
It’s the orchestras the local radio the world service
Lots of things that simply would not survive if it was commercial.
And strictly and us subsidise all those programmes and stations that are wonderful.
When you start using the thought that we should only pay for what we want, we just end up with a bland homogeneous pile of crap driven by advertising revenue and popularity. Which I guess is fine if that’s what you like.
But it’s boring as fuck. I often end up randomly watching something on BBC4 and thinking how glad I was I just accidentally came across such an interesting program.

All of that will go. Because guess what, it’s not that popular. I spend a lot of time in America. The TV is so awful. That’s what we will get.

How is it for the good of the country?

The fact that that is even asked shows how utterly complete the dismantling of society has been by right-wing libertarianism.

News
Local radio
Arts
Children's programming
Educational programming
Documentaries

It's called public service broadcasting for a reason.

If you want partisan news, shite reality TV and she'd loads of adverts to be the order of the day on free to air TV then great. I mean there are already massive wedges in our society so it doesn't matter if we make them even bigger.

I totally agree, the BBC is an amazing organisation that's internationally recognised for its excellent programming. I'm an American expat and you definitely don't want to go down that model!

I like a lot of American TV. 😱

I would miss Eastenders but mostly because I'm a regular on the no spoiler EE thread on here and that is funnier and more entertaining than the actual soap. We'd have to hope someone is subscribing and can give us updates! after spending loads on its set upgrade it would be a shame if it's scrapped completely as well. Waste of money there.