BBC Licence fee to be abolished in 2027

[knark]

Fucking Tories. Why do people vote for them? Why isn't there a viable opposition?

I would protest against this decision, but, oh, they've abolished that too.

@Svara

If you don't watch a single BBC offering, you still have to pay if you have a working TV. This isn't true we only use ours as a computer monitor or for Netflix and we do not require a licence.

If you are watching a live event-say sport-on Amazon Prime (which is nothing to do with the BBC) you need a licence.

Netflix it's true, don't usually broadcast live events but if they do the odd one and you watch it live, you will have to pay the licence.

They do tend to stick their greedy fingers into anything they can.

@DdraigGoch

Why on Earth are people confusing reforming how public service broadcasting is funded with getting rid of it altogether?

Hyperbole. It's the same with the NHS. Any sniff of desperately-needed reform and it's "you want the American system and you want to barbecue nurses on piles of burning patients"

It's how people get discussion shut down.

It depends who’s doing the reforming. It’s possible to agree that change is needed but be choosy about the kind of people who should be doing it.

[quote Likkleredridinghood]@BurntToastAgain because the folk (Nadine Dories et al) who are enforcing this are as usual being disingenuous with the truth.
This ‘whole BBC is fully of lefty liberal elites crap’ when virtually the whole of the British press is right wing and supportive of Tory governments, trying to create a culture war constantly and this sense that right wing voters are victims and being subjugated by metropolitan hand wringing do gooders. Really do despair about this country.[/quote]
Honestly, this sounds like the sort of paranoid, disingenuous stuff you are complaining about.

The license fee is long past it’s sell by date. And regardless of the sound and fury from the extremes, I would imagine that most of our elected representatives will be seeking a sensible solution that more fit for purpose.

@LawnFever (I can't quote your post as it quotes mine) - I had an idea that the Proms concerts were subsidised, so I've just looked it up and they are (according to the BBC website), with ticket sales covering a bit more than a third of the total cost.

Now whenever the BBC (still by miles the biggest news provider in the UK) points out anything about this government that isn’t good - what do you think the response will be?

Like all would be dictatorships, they want to discredit the press.

why not tomorrow?

@TameDucksAtChatsworth I only use Netflix, but I don't talk to door to door salespeople anyway just say 'no, thanks' and shut the door.

What does this mean for my beloved Radio 4?

I would imagine that most of our elected representatives will be seeking a sensible solution that more fit for purpose

… and I would imagine that a lot of our elected representatives are profit driven and short sighted.

There’s blind trust and mistrust when what we actually need are representatives with solid backgrounds openly evidencing their capabilities and values. I can’t say that this is something we currently have.

@ChurchlightJane

What does this mean for my beloved Radio 4?

Nothing good. It’s already been trimmed to the bone even though it’s so cheap to run compared to tv.

@ChurchlightJane

What does this mean for my beloved Radio 4?

With a bit of luck it will be the end of Round Britain Quiz. I hate that fucker.

@BowerOfBramble

I think the BBC should do a one day blackout of all its content including the website, radio, CBeebies, world service, tv, stuff in schools etc, iplayer.

Obviously some wouldn’t care but a lot of people would sit up and notice. People rarely think about how much stuff they actually make.

I agree with this.

While I do find the London focus, wokeness and left-wing bias irritating, there's still a lot to be had, such as iPlayer, Radio 3, 4, 4Extra, 6 and World Service plus local radio. I like the fact that there are no adverts.

@ChurchlightJane

What does this mean for my beloved Radio 4?

Oh and The Bastarding Kitchen Cabinet, too - that can get to fuck.

@BFPDec21

How many parents would pay for CBeebies alone?

I certainly would. It's educational content that Netflix and YouTube don't come close to. The license fee covers that back to back educational programming that is free of adverts. No noisy LOL doll or Hot Wheels adverts chucked in to make parents feel guilty when they can't afford things.

Maybe more people need to look at the license fee as a BBC subscription?

I definitely would. Unfortunately the cost of the license fee isn't competitive so I might not pay for the service as it currently stands if I didn't have to, but I'd certainly pay for CBeebies if it was priced right.

I'd go as far to say that CBeebies is the only quality entertainment the BBC actually broadcast anymore (well, apart from David Attenborough stuff). Haven't watched a decent drama or comedy from them in years.

There is no need for a state broadcaster in todays world
Not sure I agree with you. All other broadcasters produce programmes that sell advertising space, and it is a race to the bottom.

I like watching programmes and films uninterrupted by adverts every few minutes. I like niche prgrammes such as The Sky at Night. No commercial broadcaster is going to make stuff like that.

There will be no problem with subscribing to the BBC. There will be tiers of subscription. You will also be able to subscribe to an advert free BBC. ITV do this already on their subscription service.

It might be a roaring success.

Other broadcasters aren't on their arse and if the BBC ends up on theirs, then maybe they don't deserve to be any other way.

While I do find the London focus

Who's that? I thought we were talking about the BBC here, who are most certainly NOT London focused. Or at least not Londoner focused.

We gave up our licence a while back. Still have a working TV. Use it only for DVDs. We get our telly on the laptops or tablets from Amazon Prime.

Hurrah

That'll finally put an end to the regular harassing letters from Capita on behalf of the BBC trying to threaten me into buying a TV licence I don't need!

And to think, I used to call the BBC Pravda in jest...

Good job Netflix and Prime are investing in original dramas.

I'd be happy to continue funding BBC drama, documentaries, and some educational programmes (including some children's programming), and even sport, but I've resented not being able to tick a box somewhere that says "do not use this licence fee for what is laughingly currently called 'news' coverage".

Classic Tory move, quickly announce an attack on something that will appeal to their base to distract from the disaster of Boris fucking Johnson.

If they can’t control it or profit from it they kill it. Absolute fuckers the lot of them.

Even David Attenborough has started working with netflix hasn't he.

It annoys me that you can't legally watch ANY TV channel without a licence although its only the beeb who gets the money

Channels funded by advertising and subscription will always have an eye to keeping their income stream healthy so, like newspapers, they will adjust output to maximise income regardless of any public or national interest. A senior commercial TV man once said 'it's the BBC that keeps us honest' because there is a competitor that dies not depend on keeping an audience happy regardless of honesty. The BBC has its faults but I think we should guard its independence of the marketplace and of government.

One of our motivations for giving up the licence (which wasn't a financially motivated decision for us) was the very opposite of Londoner focus. The BBC is one of the main culprits in perpetuating the streets are paved with gold myth.

London is the epicentre of the public health housing and homelessness emergency. Thanks, in no small part, to also being a major focus for...second homes. The extremely inaccurate portrayal of London presented by the media including the BBC, is very different from reality.

Meanwhile the affluent northern constituency of Richmond (Yorks) is home to the probable soon to be new PM - Silent But Deadly Twelve Homes Sunak. Very 'London centric'

I find that people who complain the most about the licence fee don't listen to bbc radio. That's where the quality programming really is.

However, I've always felt uneasy about the strict requirement to pay. I'm not sure what the solution is, we don't want adverts all over the BBC that is the point.