O/T The BBC time to go?

[BigFatPie]

The BBC doesn't have to go. It simply should earn its living like the other channels have to.

The license fee system harks back to a time when TV was in its infancy and there were no specialist channels to cater for the needs of particular groups of viewers, but now there are literally hundreds of channels catering for people's preferred programming, be that sport, comedy, drama, music, sci-fi, real-life documentaries, news, children's TV, animation, religious programming, international programming, science etc. Basically, there has never been more choice, and you can purchase whatever type of programming you wish, or indeed buy 'bundles' which offer you a choice of all these types.

It is frankly an outrage that one particular channel can demand money from you, not only to watch it's product, which you might not even want, but to operate the television you need to watch all the other channels. The BBC no longer offers a unique product, or a superior quality product, or services particular audiences any better than anyone else. Some people say they don't want advertising on the Beeb, which is fair enough, they can raise their income through subscription if they wish. What they shouldn't be entitled to do in this day and age is live in a privileged bubble by virtue of their Royal Charter, with a competitive advantage over the rest. As with any organisation that can demand their money rather than earn their money, it makes them sloppy, arrogant, wasteful and increasingly out of touch.

I have nearly all the Sky channels for which I pay a discounted price of roughly £40 a month and i have to threaten or actually cancel it every year to keep it at that or near that price. My fairly elderly dad pays nearly £100 a month for the same because he can’t be bothered with the faff of ringing them up. BT charge £30 a month for their sports channels.

The licence fee I think is about £12 a month. For all the tv channels, radio and online content. The only reason it can be that cheap is because nearly everyone pays it. We can all argue about it’s output, but to say it should compete in the market place with everyone else when for the majority it is still their main source of news and entertainment is a bit silly. Good luck in paying anywhere near 12 quid for anything if it goes.

Oh and it was Labour who brought in free tv licences for the over 75s to begin with.

[microwavedpie]

Ficky Tricky strikes again. The Tories hand over the cost of the over 75s free licence to the BBC who obviously can’t afford to keep it, what with it being a fifth of their entire budget, and Ficky blames...the BBC.

They must love useful idiots like you. You fall for it every time. Doff cap and tug forelock.

An annual report released by the BBC disclosing the salaries of all on-air staff showed Gary Lineker is now it's highest paid employee with a salary of £1.75m.

Just over 11,500 "over 75" licence payers should just about cover that .I bet they're all delighted to be supporting such a deserving case.

Waving their Zimmer frames in the air with uncontrolled joy " sod the electric bill, we can always burn the furniture"

[Bohinen]

I have nearly all the Sky channels for which I pay a discounted price of roughly £40 a month and i have to threaten or actually cancel it every year to keep it at that or near that price. My fairly elderly dad pays nearly £100 a month for the same because he can’t be bothered with the faff of ringing them up. BT charge £30 a month for their sports channels.

The licence fee I think is about £12 a month. For all the tv channels, radio and online content. The only reason it can be that cheap is because nearly everyone pays it. We can all argue about it’s output, but to say it should compete in the market place with everyone else when for the majority it is still their main source of news and entertainment is a bit silly. Good luck in paying anywhere near 12 quid for anything if it goes.

Oh and it was Labour who brought in free tv licences for the over 75s to begin with.

I pay a fraction of that for a package with Virgin that includes Internet, landline and TV with BT Sports and loads of other channels like Nat Geo Wild, which is actually good. The BBC is utter ****e but I still have to pay for it.

I think a lot of lefties get confused about the BBC, like it's their friend. It isn't, it's a government news agency and we have a Conservative government. It's massively pro-Establishment and is obsequious to the Royal Family at all times. I would happily stop paying for it and never watch it again, but that option isn't available.

[DaveSmithRules]

Personally I think the licence fee is worth it for radio alone. I listen to the Notts commentary of most away games. Think that's a great service. Plus I like 6music and Radio2. Love not having adverts.

I don't have a TV aeriel (nor digital tv). But I watch a fair bit of tv on iplayer too.

Don't really get what people are moaning about for £10 or so per month. An awful lot of commercial tv seems actually unwatchable to me due to the adverts.

[DaveSmithRules]

PS - Conversely I'd advise all of you that pay for Sky to discover Mobdro. Free android-only app that gives you all the sports channels for free. If you stop putting money in Murdoch's pocket we might even get our football back.

[PedroTheFisherman66]

just for you Sid, time to have your lips around a hook.

The BBC has just shafted the over 75's now.
Is it time this dinosaur (the Corporation not you), was dismembered now?

It offers nothing but crap programs, even loaded to its left agenda,
No decent footy/comedy/unbiased politics/decent films. Its all cooking/selling junk/dramas that no one watches.

Yet you have to pay to watch the drivel, you don't actually watch.


Go...................................

why don't you have this debate on your own Foo king site !
as in your own words !
GO.........................! forth and multiply !!

[DaveSmithRules]

Final thought - I agree it's a bit obscene that Lineker gets £1.7m a year. But we also know that:

a) That's the absolute top end at BBC. We know this because they are now legally obliged to publish the figures and GL is the highest. The vast majority of salaries at the beeb across the country are more like 2% of that.

b) There are PL footballers who earn more than Lineker in a month as a direct result of Sky TV.

Be careful what you wish for folks.

[queenslandpie]

PS - Conversely I'd advise all of you that pay for Sky to discover Mobdro. Free android-only app that gives you all the sports channels for free. If you stop putting money in Murdoch's pocket we might even get our football back.

If all of a sudden you get Malware all over your phone you'll know why I suppose.

[Trickytreesreds]

Ficky Tricky strikes again. The Tories hand over the cost of the over 75s free licence to the BBC who obviously can’t afford to keep it, what with it being a fifth of their entire budget, and Ficky blames...the BBC.

They must love useful idiots like you. You fall for it every time. Doff cap and tug forelock.

Oh fathead, I must really get under your skin. I love your childish ranting and attempt to come up with a better insult.
It just shows you up for the obnoxious tin hat you are.

Lets just clarify what you said.
You blame the Tories, I blame the BBC.

In essence the tax payer was propping up a second rate tv provider . A provider with massive executive salaries, & can afford to give Lineker multi millions, for being a smiling **** on MOD.

So when the subsidy runs out, they scream they will have to cut back services and make inferior programmes? (That's funny in itself)
So their answer is to punish the pensioners even more. No reform/ no cut backs/ no attempt at revenue raising.
In effect the money gravy train must continue.

You really are a **** comrade aren't you?


NB. The comparisons, with your beloved EU are surreal when you think about it.

[bridpie78]

The BBC gets about half its income from tv licencing and half from synicating shows around the world,it has always been a great ambassador for the UK, you can go to hotels around the world and watch bbc news listen to the world service or catch an attenborough documentary.

take the licence fees off them and they will be forced to make better quality shows and reduce ridiculous salaries for what are effectively part time workers riding the tax payer gravy train, their future will depend on tighter budgeting and producing better quality shows that will sell abroad.

They do a lot of things really well but they are spoiled by the amount of money they have to spend, reduce their income by taking away the licence fee,make them cut thier cloth accordingly and we'll see more david attenborough and proffessor brian cox and less vanessa feltz and will i am (the last salary list i saw had vanessa feltz taking 350k a year!!!)