Making the BBC pay-per-view would lead to its slow death - Bill Rammell
Roger Bolton says the BBC license fee 'in its form' will not …
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Should the BBC be a pay-per-view service? Emphatically not in my view. Such a change would lead to the slow death of what is a core national asset for the UK.
The BBC has its flaws, but-Globally, the BBC World Service reaches a weekly audience of over 400 million. And in the UK, the BBC is used by 90% of adults and 80% of 18–34-year-olds, making it the most used media brand in the country. And these aren’t BBC figures, they come from the National Audit Office.
According to reputable academic research the BBC is by far the most widely used source of news in the UK both online and offline, and it is one of the most highly trusted sources of news.
The BBC also (despite the noise from some Tories, and Tory newspapers and media organisations with a vested interest in attacking and undermining the BBC) has cross party traction. It is the most popular source of news among both Conservative and Labour voters, and among both leave and remain voters.
Strictly Come Dancing is one of a number of hugely popular BBC shows.
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In a polarised world where social media is de-anchored from truth and facts, where what you feel or believe is more important than the truth, a news platform which at the very least aspires to impartiality and reporting the facts is worth preserving.
The BBC also has a mission to inform as well as entertain. Call me a heathen, but I think our world would be less rich, entertaining and interesting without Strictly Come Dancing, Gavin and Stacey, Happy Valley, Call the midwife, Death in Paradise, and David Attenborough’s Planet earth.
But we and the BBC must face facts-the media world is changing. Young people particularly do not watch the BBC in the way older folk did or do. They watch shows and clips when they want on their phones, tablets and other devices. And in many cases don’t need to buy the licence fee. I see this with my own children. So, I believe the licence fee in its current form is an anachronism.
The BBC must keep its "separation of powers" from the government.
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So, what alternatives do we have to properly fund and secure the future of the BBC?
Pay-per-view would fund a niche product bought by the educated middle classes (further dividing society through lack of shared experiences), would not support a national broadcaster, would abandon the current situation where we all have a stake in the BBC, and would be the death knell for the BBC as we know it.
The Government could fund the BBC directly through taxation. But that would breach the “separation of powers” where the BBC is not beholden to the Government of the day for its income through taxes. And let’s remember, every Government-Tory and Labour-becomes less keen on the BBC the longer it is in power. Imagine if such Governments had the power to withhold funding because of its displeasure. That’s why we had the licence fee in the first place, creating a separation or distance between Government and funding for the BBC.
We could allow advertising on the BBC. I’ll be honest, I like a Channel or 2 free of advertising interrupting your viewing. But every other media platform takes advertising. And this may be a price worth paying to diversify the BBC’s income streams and lesson reliance on the public purse or licence fee.
But most importantly, I think we should explore the option of the BBC being funded as an addition to Council Tax. Everyone would pay, property doesn’t move so it is hard to evade, and the tax vehicle would be distant from Government.
The combination of these last two funding sources is, I believe, the way forward for the BBC.
And the bottom line is we must have a solution for the BBC which secures something which is part of our culture, a genuine national asset and something admired around the globe.
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