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...

Sorry Suzanne yeah my maths was totally wrong
It's about 50p a day.
Bloody good bargain if you ask me.

Who is enforcing the fine?

@SuzieCarmichael

Who is enforcing the fine?

Magistrates courts enforce non payment of all criminal fines

@Elletine

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!

I totally agree.

I much prefer to watch anything on screen through the medium of a widescreen TV. The picture quality is miles better - imagine watching a David Attenburgh documentary on a small tablet, and the sound quality (because we have good speakers) is so much better than watching something on a laptop/tablet/phone.

We still watch some shows and films as a family, and I can't think it would be much fun hunched over a 13" laptop screen.

And I'm more than happy to pay my licence fee to avoid shit loads of adverts that just interrupt programmes at inopportune moments. We record anything on commercial TV anyway, and skip through the adverts.

The problem with documentary type of programmes on commercial TV is the time wasted with the "coming up" bits before the adverts, and the recap after the adverts. A one hour programme usually ends up having about 45 minutes of content worth viewing.

Not sure if the licence fee is the best mechanism but sweet god, having lived all over the world we should be shouting from the rooftops how fab it is.

In any other country the BBC would be held up and cherished rather than derided and moaned about.

They may get some things wrong now and again.....but seriously, having lived in a few countries I recognise how special it is.

I would prefer an earmarked tax I think, according to population.

“ Currently, anyone who watches or records live TV or uses iPlayer without a TV licence is guilty of a criminal offence and could go to prison.”

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51373372

It’s excessive. Remove the criminal penalty and then we can have a conversation about the licence fee. Until then - no. I don’t support the licence fee.

I can’t remember the last time I finished watching something on BBC, either on the TV or online. I tried watching Normal People but didn’t get it. When I do watch TV on BBC, I like that a show advertised for an hour will actually be an hour. Rather than on ITV were they have an hour and 15 minutes of content but it takes 2 hours to get through it with a break in the middle for the news.

However, I like the BBC. I like that the multiple channels mostly have something for all audiences. I like that the radio channels are varied and again provides something for everyone. I drive to work (before lockdown) and I listen to the radio on the commute - 2 hours a day. Commercial radio actually has very few songs and a lot of adverts. Stuck in traffic, hearing the same jingle for the third time that morning, it’s enough to make you go insane. I also find commercial radio is a very specific genre and they won’t stray from those songs. So you listen to Heart and you’ll hear Take That, Adele, Ed Sheeran, pink and maybe Kelly Clarkson. They have a genre and stick to it religiously so you don’t get any diversity in your songs. The repetition is awful. BBC radio accepts all genres - often flirting from one to the other. During the early weeks of lockdown, BBC radio channels were doing a sing a long, which I loved. It was just a mash of every genre across all ages. I listen to Radio 1 mostly and the playlist does repeat after about 3 hours (listening during the day now) but I find the mix between genres keeps me interested enough and it’s a lot more bearable than commercial radio. I do switch between the BBC radio channels and I like the different angles each of the channels has, it has something for all moods. Local BBC also covers some interesting local topics in detail, which wouldn’t happen on a local commercial radio.

I think the only thing local commercial radio has over local BBC is the traffic reports.

I think we need an independent news source...it’s just a shame the BBC just can’t achieve that.

They seem incapable of providing all sides to any argument. Every story they cover they go either left or right...totally unable to present a balanced educated representation of any story. Hence their continual criticism of being biased to the left or the right..from both sides.

I’ve done some work for BBC news and it’s a shambles how they get their guests on. They did no research whatsoever on me, just wheeled me out as a SME because of my job title, with no research on what I might say...total pot luck of what view I would represent. You see it in every interview,..it’s totally random and just a very bad way of fulfilling their remit to offer a balanced view of the news.

I can't say that I have noticed any political bias TBH. I find politics so boring that I zone out.

I seldom watch or listen to BBC content. That which I do watch is the older stuff (you know, when they actually made good comedy) on DVD or Amazon Video. So I don't bother with the licence fee. Disney+ is much better value, £60/year and includes the entire vast libraries owned by Disney such as 20th Century Studios, Lucas film, and National Geographic.

No! The BBC is amazing. I’d happily double the monthly pennies I currently pay to keep Radio 4 and 6 music alone.

The BBC is worth every penny of the licence fee. The ads on commercial channels drive ne crazy.

"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)..."

I think there is a coordinated, partly-political campaign to effectively kill the BBC and the people behind this won't change their minds if those programmes are lost. What they want to be lost is a counter-weight to media like Sky and Daily Mail (Yes I know the BBC don't publish a newspaper).

"but the £150+ that it actually costs is expensive when compared to the streaming services now available."

Which streaming service provides a significant proportion of the news, local content, radio and other elements that the BBC does? Whether they should do this and have driven out commercial competition is another question though.

They can be absolutely rapacious in their commercial operations though. To some, that might be 'effective use of the licence fee' given their privileged position, screwing over commercial suppliers to contribute to lavish salaries isn't always an attractive look.

I think the BBC news channel could be so much better, too much repetition and pointless 'filler' interviews. I flicked over to Al Jazeera news recently and they had a beautiful piece about an unusually large gathering of whales near Qatar (if I remember correctly), the footage was brilliant and there was discussion as to why they had gathered there.
On BBC news it was just pointless interviews with Joe public telling me whether he was going abroad this year.

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

I found that the other day! Scrolling through made for —TV— Netflix low budget movies. I’ve been keeping my subscription going because I thought Stranger Things 4 was coming but looks like it won’t be this year. May just cancel for a bit.

Which streaming service provides a significant proportion of the news, local content, radio and other elements that the BBC does?

NOW TV? (except for radio)

I have just paid the licence fee today and I hate it.

I won't mind saying goodbye to overpaid smug presenters on bbc tv and radio.

Being forced to pay for content unless you actively remove it else be criminalized? Nonsense with so much streaming now available. It's a dead duck.

Do Now TV have journalists and news operations across the world, Honeygirlz? I suspect they piggy back on BBC or bureaus but don't know so happy to be told I'm wrong.

I'd lose breakfast and daytime TV , stop trying to compete with ITV trash and focus on quality. And definitely broadcast something for grown-ups on Saturday nights.

@Zilla1 I’m Ents NOW TV ahaha Sky News

I'm really happy to pay the licence fee for R4, BBC2 and the occasional other things I watch. I don't think they need to be trying to produce so many channels worth of content (BBC1, 2, 3, 4, Alba, Parliament, CBBC etc). I'd be perfectly happy if they cut the repeats and put all the new programming onto just 2 channels, with everything else available on iPlayer.

What I do want them to do is sort out the absolutely terrible BBC Sounds app, and especially to restore a proper radio page on the website.

@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.

This!