Destroy the BBC!

[Seeker]

The Anus Eater (Nadine Dorries, Culture Secretary) has revealed the usual method for destroying something the Conservatives do not like. Underfund it so it gives an inferior service then express surprise and say: "It needs to be changed".

We see it with the NHS and now the BBC is next in the firing line.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/20...funding-frozen

Murdoch has been trying to get the BBC funding changed for years, looks like he'll get his way finally. I'll be sad to see it go. Dorries admires Netflix but I don't see how an over-the-air broadcaster can adopt that model unless it switches to on-line only. Paid advertising? I'd prefer it didn't go that way but options are limited. Then there's the radio channels...

So a privatised BBC because privatisation has worked so well in other areas.

[DJ123]

Perhaps they will adapt it more to the model of Channel 4, which personally i think is better.
Sure, i'm not a fan of adverts but if that means there's more cash flow from advertising to produce better programs then i'm all for it. And hopefully it removes the politicised links and allows it to be a platform which can produce/publish a program with balanced argument for/against the political powers. Without fear or wrath being used against it to reduce funding if they do not comply.

[redtrummy]

Not good, not good at all - Hopefully a change of Government could rescind her punitive measures.
NHS underfunded, Police underfunded, Town halls underfunded but the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.



You can see where this is going, more cheap crap from America and the high quality programmes become a thing of the past.

[Bibio]

welcome to BBC USA..... its been in the pipeline for a long time and even before the tories set a date.

lets face facts here, Amazon is £79, Netflix is £13.99 a month and Disney+ is £79. the BBC is £159 a year, for what.. some crap soaps and the occasional decent stuff. sell it to Amazon or Netflix. or even better make it a subscription based internet service that people dont have to pay for if they dont want it.

people getting threatened by the bailiffs for not having a licence is diabolical and just another tax raising fiasco.

i personally haven't watched terrestrial tv for about 5 years but i still pay a bbc licence to watch iplayer. i dont listen to the ****ty bbc radio either as the jockeys go on and a on and on and on without playing music.

ooohhh and all the BBC does is advertise themselves between programs or blast news at you....

[Seeker]

I only pay £5.99 for Netflix and if you decide to watch "The Silent Sea" you could argue that is too much. I wouldn't touch Amazon with a barge pole, nor Disney (but my kids are grown anyway).

This is not so much about funding though, this is more about revenge. Dorries has expressed her distaste for the BBC several times because she considers it left wing and biased. She has stated all along that she wishes it to be controlled. The Conservatives do not take criticism well.

Naturally, I wrote to her to let her know my feelings (and my own MP, too).

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by DJ123

... And hopefully it removes the politicised links and allows it to be a platform which can produce/publish a program with balanced argument for/against the political powers. Without fear or wrath being used against it to reduce funding if they do not comply.

Don't you think advertisers have the ability to leverage similar 'political' influence?

[Ruffy]

The licence fee is an inefficient, outdated way to bring in the revenue to fund the BBC.

If we value aspects of the BBC then forcing it to become just another competitive broadcaster is not the way forward IMHO. However, I have no problem with changing the funding mechanism.

The discussion about the 'correct' funding level will exist whether the licence fee exists or not. It would just affect charges to advertisers or subscribers instead.

If we think there's a place for a national service broadcaster then why not just pay for it out of general taxation like most other public sector entities and have Ofcom deal with regulating it according to a periodic settlement arrangement in line with a documented license, charter, service agreement or whatever you want to call it. That's an existing model used for railway and road infrastructure and is not too dissimilar to what happens in telecoms and energy sectors too.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by Seeker

I only pay £5.99 for Netflix and if you decide to watch "The Silent Sea" you could argue that is too much. I wouldn't touch Amazon with a barge pole, nor Disney (but my kids are grown anyway).

Amazon is great not only do you get a superb streaming service you also get a superb shopping experience (i dont care about their working environment or policy (my eldest son worked there and he said it was not that bad, just the lazy people that moaned)) and Disney+ is not just for kids.

Originally Posted by Seeker

Naturally, I wrote to her to let her know my feelings (and my own MP, too).

sometimes wish that there were more people like you but less biased.

[DJ123]

Originally Posted by Ruffy

Don't you think advertisers have the ability to leverage similar 'political' influence?

To what extent?

[DJ123]

Originally Posted by Bibio

Amazon is great not only do you get a superb streaming service you also get a superb shopping experience (i dont care about their working environment or policy (my eldest son worked there and he said it was not that bad, just the lazy people that moaned)) and Disney+ is not just for kids.

I agree regarding Amazon for shopping & streaming. Some shows/movies do have adverts if funded/supplied by IMDB though (only very few of what i have found so far).
If the shops were any good at stocking the things i want, and at the price i'm happy to pay - i'll go there. But very few shops do, without travelling miles & miles adding in the cost of time and travel expenses. But that's not going to be less than the £8 a month Amazon costs me really.

I too have Disney+, although mainly for me to watch the National Geographic documentaries and other interesting programs. My kids rarely use it to watch Disney movies.