BBC News should be on streaming sites and social media to justify a new universal levy, the head of the corporation has said.The BBC is predominantly funded by the £180 annual licence fee, which is currently under review. Director-general Matt Brittin, the former head in Europe of Google, believes the corporation is 'held back' by the fee, which is 'no longer fit for purpose', and has suggested a household levy could be an alternative funding option.
So, to combat the fact that fewer and fewer people are paying for your service (legitimately or not) you want to force everyone to pay for it instead by putting it on general taxation? Congratulations on beating big Hollywood stars, young socialists and trans men to the top of the entitlement charts.
He told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'What we need to look at is the current model. 'You pay the licence fee if you watch live TV or you're on iPlayer. I'd like to see reform that allows us to be where audiences are. 'I think BBC content should be on Netflix, on YouTube, on TikTok, on Spotify, and Instagram, and everywhere where audiences are. 'Particularly news, actually, which I think is part of disinfecting misinformation. It's our job to be everywhere.'
The BBC claiming to be against misinformation is a sick joke.
Mr Brittin clarified that the universal household bill is just one of a number of ideas that are being discussed during the renewal process. He said that the model has been used in many other countries to fund public media and would ensure a level of fairness.
Are you considering a subscription model, so those who want your service can buy it? That’s the fairest option, surely?
And when asked why everybody should pay the proposed charge, Mr Brittin said: 'Ninety-four per cent of households every month are consuming BBC content. That's incredible, yet only 80 per cent are paying. 'So there's a fairness issue there in terms of how we fund the BBC and I think that the principle is if we want a BBC that's for everyone, then it needs to be funded by everyone, and how you get that modernisation is critical.'
I'm not as hopeful as Longrider that the green paper conclusions will be heeded in the face of such rapacious entittlement. What say you, Reader?
It would not be too much of an overstatement to say that I loathe the BBBC with every fibre of my being. Yet I do occasionally make use of it on TV and online., so I grudgingly pay the fee. News, current affairs and "cutting edge" drama are simply awful, I avoid them like the plague. Even sports broadcasts, which I occasionally watch have their drawbacks. How to fund it? I don't know but cutting back on its costs would be a start. Too many TV channels, too many overpaid so called talents and meaningless dross occupying this odious organisation. There is huge potential to actually produce good educational and informative programming without the inevitable pitching of woke themes. Keep it and prune it, make it less expensive and improve the output.
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