The Great Debate about the BBC and Licence Fee

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  • But where else are you going to find such well made programmes? Sky has plenty of channels which show documentary programmes reel to reel but you won't find a David Attenborough anywhere or a good current affairs programme.

    A glance at iPlayer and there are topical, political, sport, dramas, comedies, science programmes. And then of course there is BBC radio. Surely all that entertainment has to worth 3 quid a week?

    Well despite the BBC's reputation for the making of quality programmes, that doesn't appear to be sufficient to prevent many viewers from investing in subscribtion TV, and/or heavy use of the BBC's terrestrial TV competition. Incidentally, albeit not a major factor, but perhaps interesting nonetheless, it appears, according to today's press, that the BBC only use half of their licence income for the making of TV programmes...

  • .....you should've posted a link. What did they say they spend the other half of their money on, then?

    I switched on the TV tonight which was on BBC2 and it was Newsnight talking about sex robots...I thought Newsnight was meant to analyse the day's news. Clearly not. I then turned over onto BBC1 expecting to be entertained by quality entertainment, or gripping drama or perhaps to fall off my chair laughing out loud at the latest comedy hit, instead it was a reality show about bus wars between competing companies in Belfast.

    4 billion for this.:rolleyes:

  • Most media groups are producing fodder for the masses and the masses are revolting, as always, and only interested in things that would put an earthworm to sleep. I've just trundled through channels of reality Magaluf, reality festivals, reality snow holidays for young people who are well on the way to chronic alcoholism, spend most of their time puking and bonking and, judging by the barely controlled excitement in the commentator's voice, are doing something amaaaaaaaazing.

    When that's not on you can watch people cooking.

    Or you can watch them building awful houses that look like giant cardboard crates, usually made out of cardboard crates, with see-through shower doors and baths next to huge unfrosted windows. Amaaaaaazing.

    Or you can watch gardening programs where people make those awful Buddhist gardens, full of pebbles and scary statues that look like Jubba the Hutt.

    If you get bored with that (but you won't because they are amaaaaaazing!) you can watch the police stopping lunatic drivers, or get all interested in building roads across Alaska's icy wastes, or learning all about obese teenage chavs giving birth, or being entertained by the things four years olds do.

    Sitcoms are all sanitised and filled with weeping and emoting, just like real life, or Facebook, and dramas are full of pathologists peering into the rotting corpses of murdered women whilst munching happily on a sandwich.

    Paying for this rubbish is a crime, no matter who you are paying for it.

  • A bit like eating an artichoke: You have to go through so much to end up with so little.

    Here's where some of the BBC tax goes:

  • .....you should've posted a link. What did they say they spend the other half of their money on, then?

    I switched on the TV tonight which was on BBC2 and it was Newsnight talking about sex robots...I thought Newsnight was meant to analyse the day's news. Clearly not. I then turned over onto BBC1 expecting to be entertained by quality entertainment, or gripping drama or perhaps to fall off my chair laughing out loud at the latest comedy hit, instead it was a reality show about bus wars between competing companies in Belfast.

    4 billion for this.:rolleyes:

    Geeez Horizon......as my old mother used to say, "I'll carry you around for twopence...", albeit, if you wished to take up that offer, I have to greatly increase the price!!

    Anyway - this isn't where I first read it, but it should suffice.....http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4…programmes.html

  • I would like to see all TV be PAYG, no bundles or channel packs. You can watch anything you like and the amount you've used show in the corner of the screen to be billed at the end of the month. Then the popular channels and programmes will thrive and the dross fall by the wayside.

    Probably means we'd get a lot more soaps and "reality" TV though as well as the better stuff.

  • we watch very little bbc actually ; a couple of things a week, usually off of bbc4. I could live without it if push came to shove...We never listen to bbc radio, only smooth am ; jazzfm & classicfm so have no need for that either.

    If the bbc was subscription only as opposed to everyone buying a tv licence, I suspect a 1/3rd or more households wouldnt bother, and their income would bomb.

  • But who will provide vital services like the shipping forecast and farming programmes if the BBC don't? There's hardly a commercial demand for them or much advertising revenue to be had.

  • Bring it on.

  • I have a rule, always follow the money. If Rupert Murdoch thinks that he can't compete anymore, what does our broadcasters have to compete against the likes of Netflix? EastEnders and celebrity chefs...:rolleyes:

    I wanted to listen to some "quality" Brexit analysis as I missed May's Brexit speech in the Commons yesterday, so I listened to the BBC Brexit podcast on Radio 5 last night at 6.15. What a load rubbish. Giggling and eating crisps and moaning how they can't get free booze when attending the EU summits anymore is all I heard.:thumbdown:

    I think the BBC may have had its day, but I'm nervous about getting rid of it completely.

    Hasn't that story about all the high salaries disappeared quickly? Chris Evans is still paid his millions, news presenters are still paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to read from a autocue. What a joke.

    Talking of "jokes" I am astonished the BBC got away with the Saville affair, considering a lot of the child abuse happened on BBC premises. I'm more astonished at the BBC's reaction to it all, by responding that the BBC "must do better." Not a single word about how they would protect child actors, or other kids on BBC premises, it was all about themselves.

    I would be nervous about not paying for the licence fee anymore, but it would be nice if there were more flexible options, like pay to get access to BBC News and have options whether to subscribe to cbeebies or not. It would be not in my household.

  • I'm happy to pay for anything I use and since I watch BBC then I am happy to pay for it, also like I said I like the fact they don't show adverts, where people may have the choice to pay for Sky and feel happier in that context my biggest problem with Sky is you pay for it and yet they still show adverts.

  • Do you pay for the licence fee or have you stopped it?

    We haven't paid the BBC tax for the last 10+ years, since about the only BBC service we use is R4. I also find overall that we're watching less and less of broadcast stuff from any source and more on demand, DVD or downloads.

    I do believe certain things like the shipping forcast should be publically financed but not "me too" channels that duplicate whats's already out there

  • I'm happy to pay for anything I use and since I watch BBC then I am happy to pay for it, also like I said I like the fact they don't show adverts, where people may have the choice to pay for Sky and feel happier in that context my biggest problem with Sky is you pay for it and yet they still show adverts.

    Then presumably, you would be happy to pay a direct subscription to the BBC whenever /if you wish to watch one of their programmes......just like people who watch Sky premium channels do.

  • Then presumably, you would be happy to pay a direct subscription to the BBC whenever /if you wish to watch one of their programmes......just like people who watch Sky premium channels do.

    Well if the BBC went that way then yes I would be willing to pay as I am willing to pay for Amazon Prime for the service they provide, the one precursor I have with paying for any service like that is that they do not show adverts for random crap I have no interest in buying.

  • We have a TV licence, but it's my husband who is the TV addict. I would happily do without it.

    Mark Twain — 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'

  • I would prefer to do without it too Fidget, but I see no way around it.

    Although I watch very little live tv, I do watch some, although most of that isn't on the BBC. Not that it matters as you need the licence whether you watch/record the BBC or not, including online services. It's expensive just to watch a bit of BBC News, BBC Parliament and a few shows like Strictly, but that's the system.:thumbdown:

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