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?

@DrManhattan

I dont see them as a reliable source of news anymore. They are just another tool used by this government and as for Dan Walker on breakfast FML

I'd love to know who you think is a re liable source of news given you don't trust the BBC. I'm going to guess it's either the Daily Mail, The Canary, or Facebook.

I'm quite happy to pay my £13 odd quid a month if it keeps Radio 1 and CBeebies on air! BBC Bitesize was a lifeline through the dark days of lockdown homeschooling. I think Attenborough is shown predominantly (if not exclusively) on BBC and I think we can all agree he's a force for good. The BBC Sounds app is brilliant too. Oh, and no adverts is always a winner for me.

I view the licence fee as no different to my £5.99 a month for Netflix, I just get a lot more for my money.

What an odd subject for a thread.

Someone mentioned Bitesize upthread - I do think their games are good, their general learning content can be dry as dust though. We've found tonnes on youtube that makes STEAM subjects fun and engaging. Something about BBC's presentation of educational info in videos really puts DS off, I can't really put my finger on it beyond it being a bit boring and naff. I do wonder what their meetings are like when these things are being created. Coming back to the games, they seem to have decided that the way to get away from only using RP or whatever other Southern accents they usually feature is to use people with exaggerated Yorkshire ones instead. It's so grating DS turns the sound off on those games. We live in the North! (Do like the Scottish one though.) They just seem to be a bit off the mark with so many things and it makes for a jarring experience.

News wise, I think they're so determined to hit a neutral standpoint that their writers are restricted, too. Talking about online again.

Exactly, Anticyclone!!! Spot on, there

I like the non adverts, BBC4, radio, natural history.

The news reporting, the last few months especially, has been a biased, fear mongering shambles

There's an old fashion saying, " like a curates egg" , which means its good in parts. That fits the BBC, and the NHS quite frankly. Their website and iPlayer offerings are quite good but BBC News and current affairs is biased as feck plus they keep shooting themselves in the foot : - Jimmy Saville , not editing Ross and Brand , paying Gary Lineker £millions , OAP licence fee , Cliff Richard and the latest bollock dropping Last Night of the Proms. Moving forward I think they'll find it increasingly difficult to justify trousering their £3 billion gravey train through a complusory licence fee but, like the NHS, it'll prove impossible to reform without stiring up a nuclear shit storm.

Lefties think the BBC are a Tory mouthpiece.

Conservatives think they’re a liberal leftie mouthpiece.

I think that means they’re impartial enough.

I don’t quite get the issue with Last Night of the Proms. Have I misunderstood? No singing.

YABU. BBC news has seriously gone off the rails a bit recently with their narcissistic "cult of personality" obsession with their own staff. But I can tolerate that. There are other news sources that wouldn't improve, and would probably even get worse if the BBC wasn't there.

"the license fee model is just so broken and irrelevant to how we now consume our art, news and content."

Mmm, not to my mind. It's always been an all-you-can-eat subscription service. The rest of the media has just caught up in recent years (netflix, spotify, disney+ etc).

I would rather have the choice of one centrally funded national broadcaster plus all the others, than just... all the others. And I'm happy that paying for it is largely mandatory for that privilidge.

The BBC is one of our society's most valuable assets, and I am genuinely fearful of the motives of people that really want to bring it down.

The license fee is about £100 a year. That covers BBC as you don't need one for itv, channel 4 etc. when you compare that cost to a yearly subscription to NowTV, or Netflix it's pretty extortionate.

I have an ill toddler. I’ve had my money’s worth of CBeebies this last week alone.

@PaddyF0dder

Lefties think the BBC are a Tory mouthpiece.

Conservatives think they’re a liberal leftie mouthpiece.

I think that means they’re impartial enough.

I don't think they do actually. BBC were highly critical of both Boris and Corbyn at the last election. With Covid, they've been critical of everything and everyone, politicians, medical experts, etc. I think they've just become very negative about everything. They just seem very sneery these days, particularly about our country's history and values - that's not political pro or against any political party, it's just against our indigenous population really!

@threesecrets

The license fee is about £100 a year. That covers BBC as you don't need one for itv, channel 4 etc. when you compare that cost to a yearly subscription to NowTV, or Netflix it's pretty extortionate.

It is £157.50, guess you do not pay the bills.

@threesecrets

The license fee is about £100 a year. That covers BBC as you don't need one for itv, channel 4 etc. when you compare that cost to a yearly subscription to NowTV, or Netflix it's pretty extortionate.

That’s not right. You need a licence for ITV and Channel 4 and Channel 5, even if you don’t watch BBC. It doesn’t matter which terrestrial channel.

Try living in a country other than the UK FFS. BBC is fine, no it doesn't always get it right, but my god most people have no idea what a really biased broadcaster is like.

I’m a natural BBC supporter but their coverage of women’s rights in this recent assault on us has been so shocking that it makes me doubt everything else that they report upon. If you have not seen their version of truthful reporting, feast your eyes on this:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-lancashire-53410019

Luckily we have our own eyes and the court report to reveal to us the truth.

@threesecrets

The license fee is about £100 a year. That covers BBC as you don't need one for itv, channel 4 etc. when you compare that cost to a yearly subscription to NowTV, or Netflix it's pretty extortionate.

Completely wrong.

You need a £157 a year license to watch any broadcast TV as it's shown Live.
Even if it's just Corrie on ITV.

Netflix is £50 a year cheaper and doesn't take you to court or hards you for not paying for it.

@PaddyF0dder

*Lefties think the BBC are a Tory mouthpiece.

Conservatives think they’re a liberal leftie mouthpiece.

I think that means they’re impartial enough*

I disagree.

The fact they seem to irk everyone is a symptom of the fact that they are not interested in forensic journalism, don't challenge the crap politicians of all persuasions spout nearly robustly enough, and are so shit scared of being seen as anything other than strictly impartial that it leads to totally limp and anodyne coverage of anything political at all.

It's a sign of their weakness and ineffectuality.

@MistressMounthaven

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

Thanks.

@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?

I'm not in the UK, but in terms of looking from the outside in, I now see a lot more people unhappy with the BBC than I used to. It doesn't seem that there are more against a national broadcaster - those people seem to be similar in numbers - it's that people seem to think they are not doing the job a national broadcaster should. Bad quality and biased seems to be the complaint.

That’s not right. You need a licence for ITV and Channel 4 and Channel 5, even if you don’t watch BBC. It doesn’t matter which terrestrial channel.

No, you do not need a licence to watch any of those channels.

The problem is that it's impossible in practice to watch any of those channels because they are invariably part of a package that includes the BBC, therefore you require a licence because you can also receive the BBC

The language in the act is quite concise. It refers specifically to 'if you intend to watch'. This is why you do not require a TV licence if, for example, you simply own a laptop and an internet connection. That is sufficient to permit you to watch iPlayer or the BBC's live streams, but so long as you do not 'intend' to watch them there is no requirement for you to preemtively purchase a licence. Any other way and it would essentially amount to a 'computer' or 'internet' tax.

The problem is they government made sure that it isn't that simply when it comes to Television. If you can receive ITV on your telly, then you can also receive BBC, therefore Capita have grounds for ensuring that you have a licence.

You do not require a licence if all you do on your TV is watch DVD's, stream Netflix or similar, but you are required to purchase one if all you do is watch Sky for example, because all Sky packages include BBC by default. It's effectively a racket, the government legislated to make it so.

Bad bunny yes I agree. Reading your thread out my thoughts in order.

It's the negativity.

I watch Sat am bbc and I find naga and Charlie just drone on. They have no dynamic and the 2 that so the techy bit couldn't make fireworks sound exciting.

When faced with PM rants and playground bullying tactics or the bbc monotone drone it doesn't really leave much in the way of decent morning news!

The Today programme on Radio 4 is just dreadful now. All touchy, feely and "well, how did that make you feel" shite.

I want cold, hard, factual news information and intelligent analysis. I don't want to hear how Brenda felt when her dog told her he was now going to identify as a goldfish. I don't want chit chat, giggling or silly music either.

I've gone over to Times Radio. We don't have a TV.

@PaddyF0dder

Lefties think the BBC are a Tory mouthpiece.

Conservatives think they’re a liberal leftie mouthpiece.

I think that means they’re impartial enough.

I don't even notice the political bias