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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

bbc license fee to be bundled with other bills

45 replies

jobhunter7 · 02/04/2020 12:29

www.theguardian.com/media/2020/mar/31/tv-licence-fee-could-be-replaced-by-broadband-levy-says-bbc

doesn't sound a bad idea to me...if they were just to reduce the fee as well a lot and the size of bbc... bbc 4, radio 4, a rolling multimedia news service and maybe some kids tv... everything else could be done just as well in the commercial sector...

OP posts:

PawPatrolMakesMeDrink · 02/04/2020 12:31

It sounds like a bad idea for me as we don’t use the bbc

NotEverythingIsBlackandwhite · 02/04/2020 12:35

Your title is misleading. Just because the BBC have suggested it doesn't mean it will happen. I'll be extremely surprised if it happens.

BBC are just trying to test public opinion.

NotEverythingIsBlackandwhite · 02/04/2020 12:37

It sounds like a bad idea for me as we don’t use the bbc
The license is for you to watch ANY channels according to BBC website.

LastTrainEast · 02/04/2020 12:42

I don't watch aired TV at all. I'd actually be happy to pay for the BBC if it was still what it once was. As it is they can let it become completely commercial.

Severa · 02/04/2020 12:43

I don't want them to make it a compulsory tax like it is in some countries like Germany. I sort of just want them to keep things the way they are because I like listening to Radio 3 and the Proms and I don't have to pay anything or listen to adverts. We've opted out of the licence on their website and haven't had a visit from licence goons yet, I wouldn't let them in anyway.

bellabasset · 02/04/2020 12:48

Many people have more than one TV, agree some single parent households as well as lower paid are struggling. The local councils already have details of the income for those who apply for a reduction in council rates so that might be one way of doing it.

boringrobot · 02/04/2020 12:50

They need to make it subscription only so that those that want it pay for it and those that don't aren't forced to.

MrsSnitchnose · 02/04/2020 12:53

How would that work if you don't watch TV? We don't, the TV is for gaming purposes only

flirtygirl · 02/04/2020 12:56

I don't watch TV live so I won't be paying for it.

As long as it's not bundled for people who have no need for it then ok. But it's sounds like it's not scrapping the charge but just changing the way it is paid.

flirtygirl · 02/04/2020 12:59

Our TV is used for games, roku and watching movies.

Some months I may pay for now tv or have prime on an offer.
But that's extras and not needed. I don't want another bill that I must pay, if I opt in to now tv, that my choice and doesn't have to be every month.

rosiethehen · 02/04/2020 13:02

Determind to find a way to keep feathering their overpaid nest

Timebean · 02/04/2020 13:04

Err no it's a dreadful idea. We're yet another that doesn't watch live TV at all so would be seriously miffed to have our broadband bill increased to cover the BBC tax

soakedat3 · 02/04/2020 13:12

That's a terrible idea. Let's hide the TV licence fee in amongst something else so the costumer can't separate them.

None of the TV licence goes to the other broadcast channels just now. I notice the BBC don't suggest in the article that it does in future.

VeryShortNotice · 02/04/2020 13:12

Sneaking the bbc funding off a levy on broadband is not going to be acceptable to most people (or most MPs either). The current situation has only made it more obvious that broadband is just a basic utility in this country. Why add a non-negotiable charge that makes that more expensive. It’d make as much sense as insisting on a levy on people’s electricity bills.

I agree the bbc are just trying to gauge public opinion about what might fly. Expect more stupid ideas to be floated.

FrippEnos · 02/04/2020 13:26

A broadband levy would be a scam of the highest order.

It would be money from something that they don't even own.

CheshireChat · 02/04/2020 13:30

Don't need so I don't want to pay for it obviously.

VeryShortNotice · 02/04/2020 13:32

Tbh, it’s bad enough that the government still allow the total scam that is forcing you to pay for a landline you don’t use to get broadband. But I can’t imagine a levy on broadband making its way through any parliament.

RandomLondoner · 02/04/2020 13:34

The current system already forces people who don't watch the BBC to have a licence. Anyone who watches live sport has to pay it, for example. So the proposed system doing that is not making things any worse, it's in a sense fairer in that it's not arbitrarily discriminating against a particular group.

The question therefore should be whether the BBC is something so worthwhile that everyone should be forced to subsidise it, or whether it should be just another subscription TV provider. I don't think it really serves much purpose in the latter role. The point of the BBC should be to give us a common experience. So I say charge everyone, but impose conditions so that the demographics of who is watching are monitored, and it is providing value to all.

FrippEnos · 02/04/2020 13:37

RandomLondoner

Making it "fairer" by screwing everybody over is not the way to go.

Thelnebriati · 02/04/2020 13:38

They need to make it subscription only so that those that want it pay for it and those that don't aren't forced to.
Thats the only fair way. People at the bottom end of the income scale cant afford to subsidize the fee for those who are better off.

bitchonthepitch · 02/04/2020 13:47

It'd be like paying a contribution to Sky or Virgin Media so you can use Amazon Prime - completely pointless.

TonyChestnut · 02/04/2020 13:57

I realise I'm swimming against the tide here, but...

For me, £13/month represents incredible value for money considering the BBC's output on a number of TV channels, national and local radio, and its online content. Crucially, it supports the work of large numbers of British content productions for about twice the price of Netflix which is, at a guess, 90% US content. I think we should celebrate British culture and not work towards the further Americanisation of the world.

If you think the BBC isn't sufficiently neutral (like the Tories who suggest it is too left-leaning and Labour who believe is too right wing) consider whether you would prefer the partisan, wall-to-wall adverts, or high cable subscription costs of the US model.

Of course, if you choose never to watch, read or listen to BBC content, then you don't need to worry about paying the fee.

Certainly, there will be some waste in any large organisation, and there's no reason why the BBC shouldn't be held to account, but all I ask is that people be careful what they wish for.

safariboot · 02/04/2020 14:01

It's a shit idea. Let's make an essential utility that many people struggle to afford more expensive, just to perpetuate the regressive stealth tax that is the "license fee". (And yes, the internet is an essential utility).

The only sensible options are to fund the BBC from general taxation or disband it altogether. I favour the former.

But of course if it's funded from general taxation, Crapita lose their juicy billion-pound contract to "adminster" collecting the fee. So something makes me think a Tory government won't do that.

RandomLondoner · 02/04/2020 14:08

Actually I agree that funding from general taxation would be better, if we're all going to be forced to pay for it.

Making it "fairer" by screwing everybody over is not the way to go.

There are people who would be better off if the NHS were abolished and we all had to pay for our own healthcare, or if free education were abolished and we all had to pay school fees for our children. It's fair enough to say the BBC isn't as important as those, but there is a well-establised principle of everyone being forced to pay for something the majority of the public wants, even if some of the payers would rather not. I accept it's an entirely valid point of view not to add the BBC to the list of public goods, whether it's a majority view is a reasonable way to determine the outcome.

Thelnebriati · 02/04/2020 14:18

The NHS is not comparable; they run the A&E departments and emergency ambulance system. Even if you have private healthcare you might still need to use the NHS in an emergency.

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