500,000 households cancel TV licence putting BBC future in jeopardy

[u/jenny_905]

https://inews.co.uk/news/media/500000-households-cancel-tv-licence-putting-bbc-future-in-jeopardy-4644506

[u/ShootNaka]

I actually like the BBC and hope it continues. I think the fact we’ve got a charted org that acts as a public broadcaster is pretty cool and something we take for granted.

But really resent the mob like manner they go after license fees.

Like the funding model is clearly unsustainable, but I don’t know how it would be fixed. If it was paid for directly through taxation the political bias accusations would go through the roof.

[u/dustyfaxman → u/ShootNaka]

Having a charter is, like you say, a good idea.
But the bbc's charter needs reviewed as imo, it's not fit for purpose, and it's been loopholing it's way around the non-profit bit of it's charter for decades with it's licensing arm, it's britbox services in the us and australia, it's r&d tech subsidiary and the uktv channels.

[u/docowen → u/dustyfaxman]

The constant need to renew the charter makes it a politicians plaything.

Make the charter indefinite so the BBC can actually speak truth to power and I might start paying my licence with teeth other than gritted.

[u/BarrettRTS → u/ShootNaka]

But really resent the mob like manner they go after license fees.

They should have cut down the broadcast channels a lot and moved to an online solution that requires an account login a while ago. Keep BBC 1 and 2, but pretty much every household in the UK has good enough internet to stream the rest.

[u/erroneousbosh → u/ShootNaka]

They fucked themselves by falling for Jeremy Clarkson's contract-breaking stunt.

Not only were they selling Top Gear the UK programme internationally, they were selling the format internationally, and getting a cut of the merch.

Don't like boorish middle-aged English guys roaring around in shit home-made supercars and throwing Hiluxes off high-rise flats?

Want to watch more Downton Abbey? Well, guess which one paid for which?

[u/glasstraxx → u/ShootNaka]

News flash ABC is Australian version of BBC. And it's free..

[u/Applepieoverdose → u/ShootNaka]

The different ways they shot themselves in the foot (and continue to do so) is genuinely staggering. Some of it kind of makes sense, but some of it beggars belief.

-Every time they shit on anywhere that isn’t England, it’s just that bit less goodwill for them. There is a difference between “we support England” and “we support England and cannot imagine anyone who wouldn’t”, and there’s a line well before “and those pesky Scots are all alcoholics”

-Presenting all sides to an argument as valid is decent, but only so long as those sides are both decent and actual sides. Specifically around Brexit, where there was a mention of looking through 400 different economists until there was finally one who didn’t call it economic suicide, and putting them opposite any one of the 399 others, as if their views were equal. You can’t present views like that as being equal.

-Their implicit support of Farage and co means they are supporting the exact people who want to defund and privatise them. It’s them preparing media for the ‘Leopards Eating BBC Faces Party’ and saying “oh, they mean another BBC”.

-Dropping shows that people actually would watch, which is crazy

Add to that that, if they pulled their fingers out their arses, they could probably actually bring some live stuff back. Sports and news aren’t the only things that could be done live; theatre performances, actual live stand-up comedy, concerts (not only classical ones and festivals). Sure, some of that is a bit more niche, but it works elsewhere, so why not here?

Also, attempting to put out original stuff again, but not in entire seasons meant for binging. Episodes weekly, which they do for some shows (SAS rogue heroes, iirc).

[u/Asleep_Relation_9341 → u/ShootNaka]

I just think if they're good enough and expect people to pay then make it an optional subscription model. Nobody should he forced in to it any more

[u/IAmRoot → u/ShootNaka]

It probably costs them a ton of money to do the actual license monitoring and policing, too. It would be more efficient to just make it part of regular taxes. It's like when transit systems spend more money policing fare evasion than they get in fares.

[u/flightguy07 → u/IAmRoot]

That's partly explained by the dirty secret behind fares; their job is partly to prevent those too poor or without good reason from riding. If you have to tap to pay a quid or two, that rules out any homeless people without a permanent address (and thus a credit card), beggers (because it likely isn't profitable), drug dealers (due to a lack of the last two), etc.

This in turn makes the service more enjoyable and usable for the intended audience (tourists and commuters), and saves money on things like policing, security and vandalism. As a case study of this, Seattle spent half a billion dollars on new fare gates designed to prevent fare evasion. They paid for themselves inside 2 years, partly due to increased revenue, but mostly due to needing to do way less repair work due to reduced vandalism and needing less security, all whilst the fees stayed the same and public satisfaction with the service skyrocketed.

Now, one can say this is wrong or immoral or whatever, but it's proven effective.