To think they should reduce the size of the BBC and cut the license fee?

[bluewedge]

I think BBC 4 is great for example... but would those shows not have fitted on BBC 2 in previous years...

No. Infact they should bring BBC 3 back to actual telly. There is a lot I have been unaware of but missed because I watch telly through my telly not online!!
They do need something better for Saturday night tv (so does ITV).

I couldn't agree more with you OP.

The original remit of the BBC existed at a time when entertainment formats, online shows, multiple channels were light years away.

In the era of four channels it made sense that the BBC would be an "all things to all people" provider.

In today's world of multiple content subscriptions etc?

I think in this world the BBC should be more like NPR in the US.

Provide cultural, excellent content, great news coverage, music etc, but not produce massive million pound budget light entertainment shows or try and compete for "talent" with ITV by paying the likes of Lineker 1m+ to present

@bookmum08

No. Infact they should bring BBC 3 back to actual telly. There is a lot I have been unaware of but missed because I watch telly through my telly not online!! They do need something better for Saturday night tv (so does ITV).

The world is moving away from the "delivery through TV set" model. I respect your views for sure but I don't think the BBC can keep justifying the channel model and the commensurate spend.

My BBC consumption is almost all radio. The radio is so good (diverse) bc it piggybacks on the broadcast budget. I don't want to lose BBC Radio 1-1x-2-3-4-5-6-Asian-WS. I like them all.

NPR is ok, but it's basically 75% Radio3 + 25%R4 while PBS is a little like BBC3 except extremely dependent on foreign-produced content (actual BBC, in fact). I kind of expect lots of people say they want BBC reduced but they would almighty protest if you told them there would be no more programmes like below (nothing equivalent exists on NPR/PBS)...

East Enders
advert free Olympics
Killing Eve
Peaky Blinders
Strictly
Fleabag...

The licence fee is less than half a penny a day.

I’d rather they put it to a subscription service like Netflix etc or put adverts on and do away with the fee as I watch stuff maybe twice a year on it.

The bbc is incredible. It’s not just what you see on telly though - it’s the incredible studios used by not only them but other broadcasters & companies, the developments in technology, the radio, the archive, on demand, world service, co-productions, investments in young people (bbc academy) investments in talent (writers room), the broadcast standards they’ve helped develop that the whole uk television world adheres to so we all have better quality content regardless of what channel we watch...... God, when I think about it, I think it’s a small price to pay for the shitloads of return we get!

The licence is prob the best value for money thing i currently pay for. I happily pay for it and think the over 75's should too. With my son' s scouts as a close second as that is also excellent value for money.

I have netflix too but increasingly hate it. It depresses me

Completely agree. It is mad how many local and regional outlets it has, completely out competing other companies. Most people don’t realise. I also object to light entertainment programmes which compete with commercial channels. If people want to watch celebs being paid silly money to do ballroom dancing, they can do that on ITV.

I'm happy to pay the licence fee just for Radio 4

nope love the BBC, no ads, CBeebies, only news I trust..I think people should appreciate it more

The licence fee is less than half a penny a day

Surely the licence fee is about 43p a day?

And I have no problem with the BBC existing and people choosing to pay for it. But I do object to people - mostly women - getting sent to prison for being unable to afford to pay for it. I can’t imagine that was what its founders had in mind. The BBC should be ashamed of itself.

TV licence is great value for money, and I agree with a pp that rather than scale it down they need to bring BBC3 back (they are currently in discussions about doing so).

They need to get rid of the licence fee and make it paid subscription for those who want to pay to view BBC channels. I never watch the BBC, so I'd rather not be forced to pay for it.

The cost of sending reporters around the world to cover stories must run into millions! That’s one way they could cut the cost of the license. Apart from unnecessary travel during pandemics and the cost to the climate, I can’t understand why they think it’s necessary to send a reporter to some random location to tell us about how windy it’s been there that day. Surely the newsreader could just tell us without us having to watch some poor bugger trying to do a report while their brolly blows inside out! Pisses me off.

@SuzieCarmichael

And I have no problem with the BBC existing and people choosing to pay for it. But I do object to people - mostly women - getting sent to prison for being unable to afford to pay for it. I can’t imagine that was what its founders had in mind. The BBC should be ashamed of itself.

Nobody is sent to prison for not paying for a TV licence. It is not an imprisonable offence

Given that they only launched the consultation on decriminalisation in February, I highly doubt they have managed to pass a full piece of legislation by now.

inews.co.uk/news/media/tv-licence-fee-jail-threat-dropped-bbc-decriminalisation-394131

I’d also pay the licence fee just for radio 4 - and R4extra during covid, as a reasonably covid-free zone. R4 is excellent. I’ve not come across anything close anywhere else I’ve lived.

“ five people in England and Wales were jailed for repeated refusal to pay a licence fee court fine in 2018”

FYI.

Why don’t more people listen to public service radio? What a giant waste. No wonder we end up with Brexit, Boris Johnson as pm etc. It’s not as if the information isn’t out there. Whenever I see threads like this, moaning about what’s on the telly and carping on about how it should be a subscription service, I despair. Turn on the radio. Good god.

Don't know how the half a pence a day figure has been calculated. That's less than £2 a year. Don't think anyone would object to that but the £150+ that it actually costs is expensive when compared to the streaming services now available.

@SuzieCarmichael

“ five people in England and Wales were jailed for repeated refusal to pay a licence fee court fine in 2018”

FYI.

Repeated refusal to pay the fine - not Imprisoned for not having a licence. Fine enforcement is an entirely separate process