Auntie and Self Awareness

May 26, 2020 Longrider Consumer Matters, General News, General Rants, misanthropy, Political 24

Perhaps, more accurately a staggering lack of self-awareness.

The BBC has suggested wealthier viewers could be asked to pay more as the broadcaster prepares to end free licences for those aged over 75.

The outgoing director general, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, who has run the BBC for seven years, said the corporation should contemplate different, more proportionate funding models.

Speaking on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Showyesterday, he raised the idea of basing the fee on ability to pay, or usage, whilst confirming the BBC was “preparing” to begin charging viewers over 75 from August, having put the plans on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

They really do live in a bubble. Despite having their arses handed to them on a plate by Dominic Cummings whose recent escapade has exposed them for the venal, hypocritical, self-righteous far left activists they are, they still think that we should be forced to pay for their propaganda. And, if you earn more, you should pay more despite being in the group vilified by these champagne socialists.

Time to defund it completely. If they want to set up a subscription service, so be it. If they want to host adverts, again, so be it. But for those who are sick of their political activism and lack of impartiality, then we can withhold our money. Let them live or die by the rules of the market.

24 Comments

  1. Aren’t better off people more likely to have more and better subscription services and so watch the BBC even less? I watch very little television anyway, I have better things to do with my time.

  2. Well given the average BBC “talent” wage , they should pay for it themselves!

    They of all people should be appreciative of socialist “economics”

  3. I have seen mention of ‘an agreement’ between the government and the beeb: fully support the lockdown and all our virus policies, and we won’t change the charter or the licence model.

    Do you think it’s possible? The beeb certainly have been giving it their full support.

  4. Christ on a bike LR, couldn’t you have picked a site with a comment section? That’s the best part of a news story like this.

  5. Mr. Ripper, you could try the comments over at trust pilot where the BBC has been rated as a truly reliable source for news.

    https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.bbc.co.uk

    OT but have you seen the recent post over at Samizdata about Scottish Television and their wierd North Korea style homage to the Great Leader Nichola?

  6. Hall on Marr
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LW8pDNEkOc

    Despite having their arses handed to them on a plate by Dominic Cummings

    Indeed: Sneering BBC’s Kuesessburk humiliated
    Dominic Cummings Destroys the Remainer Media
    https://youtu.be/BJtj2mkTxU0?t=736

    BBC Kuenssberg “Heartbreaking Decisions”
    https://youtu.be/7BUDNjYBu74?t=308

    Heartbreaking Decisions? Not here, I’ve not changed what I do in any way inc no extra handwashing

    Pay BBC? I haven’t for ~15 years. About only BBC I watch is QT on youtube

    BBC and C4 should be privatised and licence abolished

    • Snap, likewise I’ve been defunding the BBC for 15 years so don’t care what they impose on the wealthy and aged.

  7. This is not about “who watches what”, but rather how the BBC can distract from the obvious and ongoing row over it’s screwing over the commitment it agreed with UK Gov (in return for increased license rates and other benefits) to cover TV licenses for the over 75’s.

    That problem looms ever larger and nothing the BBC has done to date (including the half-arsed deferral) has done anything to mitigate the damage. The old adage “When in a hole, quit digging” seems to apply.

    As I’ve said previously here and elsewhere, the Telly Tax is an anachronism which just looks more out of step with the modern world as every year passes. When was the last time you saw a millenial or younger sitting down to watch broadcast TV other than as an attempt to be social with older generations (parents, grandparents, etc.).

    The BBC needs to give up its addiction to the vast streams of revenue without responsibility that comes from TV Licensing, they need to move into the same world as the rest of the media (particularly Netflix and Amazon) and establish a model based upon advertising, subscription fees or probably both.

    The problem is that I very much doubt that any combination of advertising or subscription fees will bring in the £3,690,300,000 each year that the TV License brought in during 2018/2019

    https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-financial-information-AB19

    The BBC needs to be forced off the public tit, it’s as simple as that. Only then is there a possibility of reform.

  8. O/T, Over the bank holiday I was chatting with a self employed roofer who has taken no time off work but still signed up for the Self Employed Compensation Scheme. He gave them the required tax information and wot not, they gave him £7,000+.
    Later I had a similar conversation with a Piler (pile driving us non-building types) whose accountant dealt with it. He too got £K7+. How does that work since neither of them had a reduction in income to be compensated?

      • The same lies ? One was local the other was from up north, visiting his daughter for a week, perhaps on the proceeds.

        • The lie being that the lock-down has adversely affected their business. They are skating on thin ice here if it didn’t. My business ceased on the 23rd of March and I have been unable to work since. So I qualified, but I am expected to declare it on my tax return.

  9. They have a number of news programmes in English, Arabic and other languages that are available on satellite, where they rin adverts. All are FTA.

    Based on what I’ve seen, they don’t have the option of funding by adverts, because only a handful do so. And if they go subscription, it’ll be impossible for them to generate a fraction of what they need to continue with their existing format.

  10. Then on the very next day, as if to show deliberately that LR is entirely right, Emily Maitlis delivers an introduction to Newsnight that is the most politically biased Charter busting rant that the BBC has yet managed.

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