TV license, BBC lose 1.1 Billion.

[Beebo]

Then they should have no problems getting people who want to watch them to pay for them rather than charging everybody else that doesn't even want to watch their channels.

I don’t think a subscription model would ever work for a national broadcaster of lineal TV.
It has to be paid from general taxation, if the consensus is that the licence fee is now defunct.

 

[Psamathe]

I don’t think a subscription model would ever work for a national broadcaster of lineal TV.

The big question becomes "why"?

If eg not enough people would subscribe then maybe that means it is dependent on contributions from people who don't watch.

Commercial channels manage OK so why not BBC?

The trouble with paying from General Taxation means even more people who don't use BBC will be paying for BBC - so in many respects worse than current situation.

Maybe I don't understand what a "public service" broadcaster is, what it means and why or who needs one. According to UK Government this means "Its main responsibility is to provide impartial public service broadcasting in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man." but then other channels have the "impartial" constraint as per OFCOM (eg Channel 4).

 

[Blazing Saddles]

Time-slip does not work on the free versions of ITVX or 4OD.
Not for me at least.

Correct.

I had a half price offer for Channel 4, so I thought for £1-70 a month, I thought why not?
Fact is that ad free isn’t ad free. Each program I have watched says for contractual reasons the program contains breaks.
Turns out the breaks are all for Channel 4 shows. Can be as many as 3 breaks in an hour. They are a bloody nuisance, so I won’t even pay £19-99 come renewal time.

 

[Pblakeney]

Correct.

I had a half price offer for Channel 4, so I thought for £1-70 a month, I thought why not?
Fact is that ad free isn’t ad free. Each program I have watched says for contractual reasons the program contains breaks.
Turns out the breaks are all for Channel 4 shows. Can be as many as 3 breaks in an hour. They are a bloody nuisance, so I won’t even pay £19-99 come renewal time.

Much like the time I subscribed to avoid ads mostly to watch Cheers right through.
They withdrew the series before there was enough time to watch all the series. I was upset enough to cancel and took Netflix instead.

 

[Xipe Totec]

I unsubscribed from the BBC a couple of years back - I do not use any of its services. They send a letter (containing veiled threats) every year which compels me to confirm that I am still not using any of their services - or accessing any other live 'programming' or 'TV programmes' on any other service.

Evidently they are losing subscribers at an alarming rate and are talking about expanding the license fee to cover all streaming services, regardless of whether the content's live or not. I'd assume this is going to be difficult, if not impossible to police - it'll be interesting to see how this works for them. I am not considering re-subscribing.

 

[Psamathe]

Evidently they are losing subscribers at an alarming rate and are talking about expanding the license fee to cover all streaming services, regardless of whether the content's live or not. I'd assume this is going to be difficult, if not impossible to police - it'll be interesting to see how this works for them. I am not considering re-subscribing.

They are also very "uncooperative" with regard streaming. I use a VPN for privacy reasons, live in UK and use a VPN server based in UK with a TV license yet I can't use iPlayer because BBC don't like my IP address (which is UK geotagged) - so I pay yot don't get their full service 'cos they won't respect people wanting privacy/security.

 

[UglyWithaSidePart]

Anyone visited the US reasonably regular?
That's what our TV will look like when the BBC goes. That's not to say a review of how it's funded isn't due - even it if ends up remaining the same.
The content available is vast and covers everything from cooking recipes, to education, news, radio not to mention the regular TV channels.

 

[wafter]

The funding model of the BBC made a lot more sense during the earlier years of its life, when it was more like an objective national service and there was no competition.

Now it's caught in an awkward middle ground of trying to maintain the values that made it great in a world of enormous commercial competition.

It's attempts to compete have arguably reduced the quality of its content, while there are lots of other issues relating to bias, noncing and other things.

Finally the way the license is collected looks increasingly archaic and the means used to enforce collection notoriously dubious.

 

[Beebo]

The funding model of the BBC made a lot more sense during the earlier years of its life, when it was more like an objective national service and there was no competition.

Now it's caught in an awkward middle ground of trying to maintain the values that made it great in a world of enormous commercial competition.

It's attempts to compete have arguably reduced the quality of its content, while there are lots of other issues relating to bias, noncing and other things.

Finally the way the license is collected looks increasingly archaic and the means used to enforce collection notoriously dubious.

Yes. Even people under 50 will remember when there was just 3 channels on TV and a handful of commercial radio stations.
The BBC was a virtual national monopoly.
People under 30 simply don’t understand how we got to this situation, as the BBC is just one of many media outlets, who are smaller, more nimble and more focused on entertainment.

 

[wafter]

Yes. Even people under 50 will remember when there was just 3 channels on TV and a handful of commercial radio stations.
The BBC was a virtual national monopoly.
People under 30 simply don’t understand how we got to this situation, as the BBC is just one of many media outlets, who are smaller, more nimble and more focused on entertainment.

Indeed... it's a real shame as conceptually I really like the BBC and am sad to see its fall from grace as a cherished British institution.. partially because of circumstance; partially because of its own failures.

 

[Beebo]

It started as a radio license in 1923.
Then moved to a TV license, black and white changed to colour. No one cared because at the time usage was almost 100% universal.

So the license does keep evolving as media consumption changes.

Time has moved on again and the license needs a full rebrand.

Maybe call it an internet or media license. This allows all users to access the internet in UK, and supports public service providers.

A bit like a car tax. It’s a universal cost to support society.

 

[wafter]

It started as a radio license in 1923.
Then moved to a TV license, black and white changed to colour. No one cared because at the time usage was almost 100% universal.

So the license does keep evolving as media consumption changes.

Time has moved on again and the license needs a full rebrand.

Maybe call it an internet or media license. This allows all users to access the internet in UK, and supports public service providers.

A bit like a car tax. It’s a universal cost to support society.

Unfortunately I don't think that model's viable any more in the current media environment. The position the BBC used to legitimately occupy simply doesn't exist any more - it's now pretty much "just another" media company that in many ways no longer warrants the unquestionable status as a national treasure and force for the greater good that it once held.

As such it's difficult to see how the current licensing structure can be considered viable; although I don't have any suggestions as to a viable alternative.

 

[icowden]

Unfortunately I don't think that model's viable any more in the current media environment. The position the BBC used to legitimately occupy simply doesn't exist any more - it's now pretty much "just another" media company that in many ways no longer warrants the unquestionable status as a national treasure and force for the greater good that it once held.

Strong disagree . The BBC and license fee fund:

• 8 National TV channels where it can create content that doesn't have to satisfy advertisers
• 10 National radio stations
• 15 Regional TV stations
• 40 regional Radio Stations
• 12 National Websites
• BBC Education
• 5 orchestras
• 3 choirs
• Regional journalism, paying for reporters for local press - exploited by organisations such as Retch.
• Commission a huge number of programmes in collaboration with other broadcasters such as Netflix and Amazon
• Sell a huge number of programmes and formats around the world

It's not "just another media company", it's the envy of the world.

 

[Milzy]

Strong disagree . The BBC and license fee fund:

• 8 National TV channels where it can create content that doesn't have to satisfy advertisers
• 10 National radio stations
• 15 Regional TV stations
• 40 regional Radio Stations
• 12 National Websites
• BBC Education
• 5 orchestras
• 3 choirs
• Regional journalism, paying for reporters for local press - exploited by organisations such as Retch.
• Commission a huge number of programmes in collaboration with other broadcasters such as Netflix and Amazon
• Sell a huge number of programmes and formats around the world

It's not "just another media company", it's the envy of the world.

They need to advertise then because millions won’t pay the fee and minimum wage enforcers paying visits will get ignored. It looks good on paper what you list but loads of young people are not interested.

 

[All uphill]

Just wanted to say the licence is a thing you can buy.

It gives you license to do something, IE watch live TV.

Pedant mode off.