TV licence

[oddoneout]

Well there's an end to any point in hoping for improvements to R3. It would seem that its death sentence has been announced by the toddler throwing a tantrum at being told off for behaving badly.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jan/16/bbc-licence-fee-to-be-abolished-in-2027-and-funding-frozen

I am pessimistic because finding an alternative needs a competent and intelligent government. A clique of numbskulls operating a bungs for buddies club won't cut it.

[Frances_iom]

Well there's an end to any point in hoping for improvements to R3....

saving 5% per year spells a quick death knell for the Beeb unless major changes take place eg pay restraint for the 'talent' - but as the competition has much deeper pockets and sees a great profit once the competition from the Beeb is removed - maybe we should start a book on how long the orchestras have left.

[ardcarp]

Did I hear that the Licence Fee will end altogether in 2027? So the BBC will just be a subscription service like Netflix?

That really is the end of intelligent broadcasting.

I won't even mention the Shipping Forecast.

[Barbirollians]

Did I hear that the Licence Fee will end altogether in 2027? So the BBC will just be a subscription service like Netflix?

That really is the end of intelligent broadcasting.

I won't even mention the Shipping Forecast.

That is the fantasy of the repellent and utterly incompetent Nadine Dorries - as she is entirely reliant on the current PM for being anything other than a joke back bencher I suspect there is a much better chance that Dorries’s ministerial career is long forgotten before 2027.

[RichardB]

That is the fantasy of the repellent and utterly incompetent Nadine Dorries - as she is entirely reliant on the current PM for being anything other than a joke back bencher I suspect there is a much better chance that Dorries’s ministerial career is long forgotten before 2027.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Plus the timing of this announcement of course has nothing to do with making a lame attempt to distract from the PM's accelerating downfall.

[kernelbogey]

That is the fantasy of the repellent and utterly incompetent Nadine Dorries - as she is entirely reliant on the current PM for being anything other than a joke back bencher I suspect there is a much better chance that Dorries’s ministerial career is long forgotten before 2027.

Certainly worth hoping for....

That's exactly what I was thinking. Plus the timing of this announcement of course has nothing to do with making a lame attempt to distract from the PM's accelerating downfall.

[oddoneout]

That is the fantasy of the repellent and utterly incompetent Nadine Dorries - as she is entirely reliant on the current PM for being anything other than a joke back bencher I suspect there is a much better chance that Dorries’s ministerial career is long forgotten before 2027.

Whether she stays or goes is irrelevant if the wrecking ball has been set in motion.
Some of the alternatives here. https://www.theguardian.com/media/20...bc-licence-fee The penultimate one says it all as far as the extinction of R3 (and all the associated music groups) is concerned.

[ahinton]

Whether she stays or goes is irrelevant if the wrecking ball has been set in motion.
Some of the alternatives here. https://www.theguardian.com/media/20...bc-licence-fee The penultimate one says it all as far as the extinction of R3 (and all the associated music groups) is concerned.

Indeed; this is not just a fantasy of the execrable Dorries but part of a general move ultimately to dispose of BBC in general and R3 in particular - or so it seems to me, anyway...

[kernelbogey]

Indeed; this is not just a fantasy of the execrable Dorries but part of a general move ultimately to dispose of BBC in general and R3 in particular - or so it seems to me, anyway...

It seems to me to be a combination of distaste for (and fear of) BBC independent news & comment and the religion of privatisation.

[LHC]

Although it has long been a desire of the Brexit ultras to 'defund the BBC', until now Johnson had shied away from forcing a Netflix-style subscription model on the BBC because the Tories were frightened the BBC was too popular with the general public

However, now Johnson is solely focused on saving his job and is prepared to sacrifice anyone and everything, getting rid of the BBC is back on the agenda.

[kernelbogey]

It's also grossly insulting to both Parliament and the public that Dorries announced this on Twitter. I daresay Mr Speaker will have something to say about that today.

[Cockney Sparrow]

That is the fantasy of the repellent and utterly incompetent Nadine Dorries - as she is entirely reliant on the current PM for being anything other than a joke back bencher I suspect there is a much better chance that Dorries’s ministerial career is long forgotten before 2027.

Although long term planning is needed, the point has been made that the actual decision whether licence fee increases are negotiated in the next Parliament isn't up to Dorries or Johnson - unless they are re-elected.

The labour spokesman in the last half hour of Today (R4) this morning defended the worth and value of funding the BBC with the licence fee and the support for the cultural/creative economy that is provided as a result. Sounds like a clear choice at the next election. A subscription model relies on an all internet delivery (end of freeview surely implicit in that) so it would be no suprise that there would be resistance, and it could be spun "unfortunately the technology isn't there yet for a universal service " (shades of abandoning FM transmission?)

The problem for this government is that they don't have the indulgence, the support, the free-passes they get from all the rest of the Main Stream Media - even the Daily Hate has switched to participating in the distraction drive with "what about the leader of the opposition eating and drinking a beer". The BBC is one of the few organisations that seeks to properly hold this government to account and their output exposes to daylight the debased politics we have come to be saddled with. Much better break up the BBC if they can get away with it.....profitable parts sold off for pennies to those important press barons they rely on for support come election time.

If I was Davie I would say in Dorries scenario the orchestras couldn't be supported and will need to go to the Arts Council and its budget - then the BBC will buy in what they need..........

[Joseph K]

It seems to me to be a combination of distaste for (and fear of) BBC independent news & comment and the religion of privatisation.

... the BBC has never been independent though and now it's like an ouroboros, since like most of the rest of mainstream media it essentially campaigned in favour of the current PM, except unlike all the private media corporations it relies upon the very source that wants to get rid of it! It's a true believer in that religion of privatisation.

[oddoneout]

... the BBC has never been independent though and now it's like an ouroboros, since like most of the rest of mainstream media it essentially campaigned in favour of the current PM, except unlike all the private media corporations it relies upon the very source that wants to get rid of it! It's a true believer in that religion of privatisation.

Possibly not but now it seems it isn't sufficiently sycophantic/proCon either to ensure its future as the State mouthpiece and propaganda machine.
I still think there is an element of truth in the cliche that if both left and right are complaining about bias then the balance is not that far off.
The idea that this country would get to the stage where the only coverage of government and authority allowed would be that which was favourable was never one that I had never had cause to entertain, but then neither did I think that members of my family could be at risk (albeit slight at the moment) of being removed from the country for being full or dual nationals of another country.

[french frank]

... the BBC has never been independent though and now it's like an ouroboros, since like most of the rest of mainstream media it essentially campaigned in favour of the current PM, except unlike all the private media corporations it relies upon the very source that wants to get rid of it! It's a true believer in that religion of privatisation.

That's true. The alternative is for it to be funded out of general taxation (including from me even though I don't have or want the TV or radio and all wage-earning members of a household). But even then, there needs to be an independent body to fix how much it gets, otherwise it's still left to the govenment to decide.

As far as many of its current critics are concerned, it's the best they're likely to get.