I DON'T AGREE that the BBC licence isn't justifiable and STRONGLY suspect a SJY buy-off of politicians.

[vinegarandbrownpaper]

There's no way the BBC isnt the most awesome resource.

My plan would be:
a. lower cost voluntary fee for users who don't have a telly but do feel love for the bbc/output. Like a 'friends of' fee, perhaps with some access rewards or involvement in internal decisions.
b. A 'would you like to buy the team a coffee' type small payment on iplayer. Voluntary but giving the user a chance to occasionally give monetary Thanks.
c. Some crowd-funded production targets eg 'ab fab summer special' etc
d. A radio-fan voluntary licence club with open events and forums for payers. Low cost, but allows a monetary 'Thanks' for payment.
e. Monetising playlister platform for overseas audiences and asking for cross-payments for signposted content.

I don't have tv and don't pay licence but would pay a 'no tv' enthusiasts or radio fan licence for 1/3 to 1/2 the cost if it were available and badged as such (and stopped the unstoppable letters and 'investigations' that must waste a LOT of money.

As far as I know there is no mechanism for additional voluntary payments to the bbc which is a shame.

Ah maybe I misunderstood then, I thought that the plan was in addition to the original fee. A sort of 'top up' service for people without a tv.

Wow, I live in a little Radio 4/BBC4 bubble where 90% of what I watch is BBC output that is just not available anywhere else (northern female academics presenting science and history programmes mainly). And the kids are obsessed with Max and Molly (I force them to play the Scottish games sometimes so they learn the accent) and watch nothing but cbeebies. Clearly I am a walking cliche and the licence fee is worthwhile for me but what percentage of people really watch nothing but Sky and never listen to a BBC radio station/use the BBC News website? Conversation about TV at work are all about Call the Midwife or Wolf Hall or GBBO/GBSB.

I cannot work out what SJY stands for, my only guess is Sir Jimmy Young!

I think it would be interesting to see the demographics of viewers.

All my friends watch Netflix or streaming sites and have done for years. People of my generation at work tend to be obsessed with things like Game of Thrones/Breaking Bad etc. A lot of people listen to Grimmy in the morning though!

My parents watch sky but enjoy Country file and Downton. They don't use any form of Internet based subscription tv and still buy Cds and audio books.

Friends I've met through DD use their tablets/phones etc to enable their DC to watch specific things. These might be bbc programs but on Iplayer or YouTube.

I think it's really interesting how much viewing has changed in the last few years and I'd love to have a sneak peek at where it's heading.