to think the BBC has had it's day and it really is over now?

[hamstersarse]

Obviously this debate has been rumbling for years, but it seems to me that the tide has turned very quickly in recent months.

They genuinely do not seem to represent anyone well, and the license fee model is just so broken and irrelevant to how we now consume our art, news and content.

It remains a great idea (possibly fundamental to a civilised society) to have a non-biased media outlet, but the BBC just do not seem up to the job.

Does anyone still feel they are a reliable source of news? Does anyone agree with the license fee model? Can we not get their type of content elsewhere, by choice?

There isn't much on it so it should be subscription so people can choose, I would probably pay as I do for all the other TV subscriptions but it should be a choice

I also think that we need a public sector broadcaster. Good information sources are essential for a democracy. If we lose that we lose everything, if there’s any of it still left.

Their educational arm is fantastic and the service they have provided through lockdown via the Daily Lessons and Bitesize has been amazing - and far beyond what the education profession has provided.

That said, the news section is not what it was, to put it mildly. Didn’t they outsource the news website a while ago? It certainly seems like it. It’s just another click bait rewriting of press-releases, celebrity gossip and born-middle-class ignorances.

If you want a quick snapshot of what’s happened to this nation you could do worse than look at the state of the BBC. Lions led by donkeys and starved of capital.

For those saying, they prefer some ITV programming......

ITV wouldn’t be ITV without the existence of a public broadcaster.

ITV news would become Fox News.

I read they pay Gary Lineker £3m. a year. News readers get about £600.000.

@LightAsTheBreeze

There isn't much on it so it should be subscription so people can choose, I would probably pay as I do for all the other TV subscriptions but it should be a choice

I’m flabbergasted that anyone can say this. You might not want to watch all of it, sure, but “there isn’t much on it”? Lots of TV channels of different sorts, lots of radio channels, podcasts, its education service, the website, World Service, etc. If anything, there’s too much on it, as it tries to do everything.

I don't know why people are so hung up on the BBC not having adverts.So what? Over £150 a year per household to miss out on a few ads... Can you imagine ITV piping up "We have an amazing new deal, for only £157 a year you can skip all our ads!!" People would think they were insane.

It's not like the BBC will go anywhere if we all stop paying the license for it. It will just... have ads!

@tara66, Yes, I just wanted to amend my last comment a bit. Like everywhere they are starved of capital on the ground, where it actually matters. Too many Fat Cats at the top.

It's not like the BBC will go anywhere if we all stop paying the license for it. It will just... have ads!

There aren’t enough advertisers willing to pay for ads any more even on the commercial channels. TV advertising is in decline.

I stopped paying my license last year. I haven't been bothered yet, but now I know that Satan's itchy arsehole Capita is running the collections they won't get politeness and smiles from me if they knock at my door.

The point about finding is that you always have accountability to funders. Which would you rather the BBC, and the rest of the savaged public sector, was accountable to? The people of the nation, or private companies, most likely from the other side of the world?

The beeb is getting a lot wrong these days, the licence fee seems out of date, but that said, you can’t please everyone all the time. Some of their content is still brilliant. I have lived in the USA. I would support the bbc forever just because I wouldn’t ever want our media to go down an American model.

I will happily pay my licence fee just for Cbeebies, CBBC, radio 4, David Attenborough and Repair Shop. I HATE the kids watching advert filled TV flogging them overpriced plastic shite. The quality of the BBC children's programming is excellent and diverse.

I agree that without the BBC it will be a race to the bottom. I don't care how I pay for it - TV licence or pay per view, but I wouldn't want to lose it.

Do people really just not watch something out of principle just because it is on the BBC?

I watch very few things with adverts. Maybe one that I can think of on E4, it’s mostly series on Netflix etc

But I find adverts on the radio more intrusive and have to mute if LBC is on and choose hairdresser with non advert radio. Can’t stand them

There aren’t enough advertisers willing to pay for ads any more even on the commercial channels. TV advertising is in decline.

That will be because people have other options. We're not lacking in places to go for dramas, films, music and news. If anything we have too many options.

It's like people getting upset at the thought of losing the good old high street when they buy most of their stuff online. Things move on. The license fee will be abolished at some point because younger people will grow up and see no sense in paying it. That's why they're making older people pay now, because they know they will.

I love our local BBC radio station and regional news. I'd be gutted if we lost those. We're not even in the major regional city, so most of the "news" doesn't concern us, but the radio presenters in particular just seem to gauge the needs of our region very well and I can happily listen all day, to the music, the dialogue, news, comments, the lot really - for me, it's just at the right level and most importantly, they try their best to avoid politics (other than presenting the facts!).

But I'd lose no sleep over scrapping the national BBC news, documentaries, BBC Breakfast "news", etc. I'm fed up of it all. I barely watch any of it as their presenters annoy me with their agendas. Keunsberg in particular is awful - she was bad enough with her constant negativity and pestering last year re Brexit and the GE, but she's been utterly woeful with Covid. We now have "slebs" on the Breakfast show rather than quality broadcasters, most of whom have their own agendas which they don't even try to hide particularly Naga. They have massively dumbed down self appointed "experts" who are just reading the autocue and have nothing to add, particularly some of the car crash interviews of that Geordie Woman who is supposed to be the finance expert - she's utterly incapable of following up from answers - a bank or industry person replies to a question and she just asks the next question as if she wasn't listening to the answer (though Kuensberg does that too!).

I just wish there was a way we could keep the good bits (regional radio and TV) and get rid of the national/political bits. A subscription service would be good where you could just pay for the bits you want.

@YardleyX

For those saying, they prefer some ITV programming......

ITV wouldn’t be ITV without the existence of a public broadcaster.

ITV news would become Fox News.

I don't know what Fox News is?

Well I know it's an American channel but I don't know how it works.

Can you explain for me?

Agree with whoever said bbc bitesize is a great educational resource. Ds spent hours at swim meets between races revising for exams using this.

That will be because people have other options. We're not lacking in places to go for dramas, films, music and news. If anything we have too many options.

But who will provide the good children’s telly, the thoughtful documentaries, the incisive talk radio? These cost money and don’t necessarily bring in huge audiences. They are still worthwhile, though, as they make society and civilisation richer. Drama, etc, is easy pickings.

I am just irritated by this whole thing with the Proms. I'm supportive of being more inclusive and diverse. But that doesn't mean setting aside British history and culture in the process. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

They should separate tv and radio.
It's crazy to lump everything together and talk about the BBC.
Who would do regional news without the BBC. Who else does a World Service?
But they are obliged to be more inclusive rather than pandering to the older white audience - upshot is the new audience is not interested and the oldies like me stop listening. So numbers will fall which will let the Gov justify reducing or doing away wiht license fee.
I would let TV sink or swim against Netflix etc and preserve the Radio.

But who will provide the good children’s telly, the thoughtful documentaries, the incisive talk radio

Netflix has award winning kids TV shows. From Tales of Arcadia, to Hilda. Award winning and outstanding documentaries too. Talk radio replaced by podcasts and YouTube.

Fox News is like tabloid TV - most of the news is what has good video eg helicopter footage of a police car chase, videos of out of control fires, cops arresting someone. And 'news' about celebrities.
What isn't on is unbiased political debate etc

We have a saying in this house. "It's a bit BBC." Refers to the naff production values of some of their shows and how on the nose and obvious some of their content can be. I can't listen to R4 drama or comedy, but I like other stuff... however they seem to be messing with the format of their doc style programmes - there was one about tunnelling under the Berlin wall a while ago and the presenter was awful. Dramatic and abrasive. I enjoyed some of the podcasts they had during lockdown (Louis Theroux, James Acaster). I'd happily pay a minor fee for just radio... though I've gone off 6 music as well, since they switched Lauren and Shaun about. Don't pay license fee as we don't have telly. Weirdly, DS has never really been bothered about CBeebies either. I liked Sarah and Duck more than he did!

Fucking hell! What other media organisation do you think could come up with an entire suite of children's learning resources, ranging from age 5 to teens, spread over live TV, catchup and website in the middle of a pandemic, and make it entertaining, informative and fun.

I was so proud to live in a country where something like BBC bitesize was possible. I didn't see many advertising or subscription funded media companies doing anything similar?

Just listening to an hour of radio 4 a day is worth the licence fee!