No BBC license fee from 2027

[Thorongil]

3 hours ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Absolutely. News and current affairs coverage on Netflix is second to none, as well. And as for Disney's blanket coverage of local radio, well..
(Above post may contain sarcasm)

I don’t give a f**k if the BBCs news, current affairs or local radio output ends tomorrow. If you want that, pay for it by all means, but don’t force the rest of us to do so. 

[Clown Job]

6 minutes ago, Thorongil said:

It currently forces poor people who don’t watch it to pay for it under threat of imprisonment so that it can pay Gary Lineker £2m a year. 

It’s performance and output WITH the licence fee has been diminishing. Force it to compete and  if it is good people will pay for it. 

Delighted at the chickens finally coming home to roost.

I asked this before and didn’t get an answer 

But how many people have be handed a prison sentence for refusal to pay the license? 

[welshbairn]

GB News could have a 24/7 radio news channel to fill the gap, that'll sort it. Farage doing a piece on the troubles women are having running market stalls in Burkina Faso, lets call it a 5 year investigation.

[Thorongil]

9 minutes ago, Clown Job said:

I asked this before and didn’t get an answer 

But how many people have be handed a prison sentence for refusal to pay the license? 

I don’t know. 

[Thorongil]

14 minutes ago, Clown Job said:

I asked this before and didn’t get an answer 

But how many people have be handed a prison sentence for refusal to pay the license? 

I tried googling and got some information. Is that something you’ve tried at all?

[tamthebam]

I think we can extend this laissez faire approach to save taxpayers money in other areas:

Let's get the Royals sponsorship and do away with the Civil list. "Her Majesty, sponsored by Saga Holidays, and wearing the Crown, sponsored by Ramsdens, today opened Parliament". OK so Randy Andy might end up being the equivalent of the third choice keeper who doesn't get his kit sponsored but that's too bad.

Similarly we spunk billions on the professional armed forces. As they're recognised to be one of the best in the world let's turn them into mercenaries. OK you might worry about the British Army getting hired by some dodgy regimes but we're quite happy to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia to drop on Yemen, no questions asked, so it's just extending this a bit further. And a privatised army is less likely to get ripped off in terms of defence contracts. "Sorry VSEL but I've got a bloke in India reckons he could knock up a nuclear submarine at half the price.."

In the Second World War towns would raise funds and buy their own Spitfire. I propose to do the same thing for renewal of Trident. Towns and Cities will have a fundraising drive to purchase their own missile. Auchinleck and Cumnock will be excluded lest they use their missiles on each other.

Similarly go back to the 19th Century and abolish MPs pay and pensions. The Tories all have directorships, Labour can be in the pay of the Unions, the Lib Dems can have a jumble sale, the Shinners don't sit in Parliament anyway so save money that way, the SNP could sell moonshine whisky to gullible tourists, Plaid could have a whip round at the Eisteddfod, the DUP can put round the bowler hat at those picturesque traditional summer walks they like, and Caroline Lucas can sell vegan ice-cream on Brighton Pier at weekends.

Simple solutions for a happier Britain.

[Clockwork]

It currently forces poor people who don’t watch it to pay for it under threat of imprisonment so that it can pay Gary Lineker £2m a year. 
It’s performance and output WITH the licence fee has been diminishing. Force it to compete and  if it is good people will pay for it. 
Delighted at the chickens finally coming home to roost.

This for me. I listened to a recording of a BBC radio interview broadcast last year with Lineker, when he was questioned about his huge salary for presenting football highlights? He pretty much closed the question down with ‘I’m in demand, I’m marketable, I’m worth it, f*ck off!
The BBC pays hugely over the odds for its regulars, Sports Presenters/Pundits, Chat Show & Game Show hosts, Current Affairs & News Broadcasters even Radio Presenters. Is the talent pool so small that they are forced to pay such exorbitant wages to retain the likes of Gary Lineker, Zoe Ball, Steven Nolan & Vanessa Feltz? Surely not.
The BBC does produce some great content, but in this area in particular it could (and should) strive to offer better value for money from it’s compulsory annual fee.

[Thorongil]

10 minutes ago, Clockwork said:

This for me. I listened to a recording of a BBC radio interview broadcast last year with Lineker, when he was questioned about his huge salary for presenting football highlights? He pretty much closed the question down with ‘I’m in demand, I’m marketable, I’m worth it, f*ck off!
The BBC pays hugely over the odds for its regulars, Sports Presenters/Pundits, Chat Show & Game Show hosts, Current Affairs & News Broadcasters even Radio Presenters. Is the talent pool so small that they are forced to pay such exorbitant wages to retain the likes of Gary Lineker, Zoe Ball, Steven Nolan & Vanessa Feltz? Surely not.
The BBC does produce some great content, but in this area in particular it could (and should) strive to offer better value for money from it’s compulsory annual fee.

I agree with all of this up to “the BBC does produce some great content”. 

I don’t think it does anymore. Certainly not entertainment content other than the occasional gem on its online BBC3 offering. It still appalls me that they took that away as an actual channel as it actually was a developing ground for talent. 

Almost everything else it touches now in terms of drama, comedy and entertainment is disastrous or merely agonisingly mediocre. And all of it has an irritating tone which marks it as BBC in a way you don’t find with other providers.

Leaving things as they are in terms of the licence fee will kill it. It needs an almighty boot up the arse and a very big spring clean to raise standards.

[Kejan]

The big hoose must stay open.

Not really, tbh. I'd miss it for its coverage of Scottish football (no matter how much of a shambles it can be) and possibly election night when the least worst beat the worst. 

[Gordon EF]

6 hours ago, mizfit said:

 I had to listen to them wanking off the England national side for the whole of last summer and pay for that privilege.

All worth it in the end though...

Spoiler

But seriously, bin the licence fee. Fund the services worth keeping through general taxation. Or just let it stand on it's own two feet.

[Clockwork]

I agree with all of this up to “the BBC does produce some great content”. 
I don’t think it does anymore. Certainly not entertainment content other than the occasional gem on its online BBC3 offering. It still appalls me that they took that away as an actual channel as it actually was a developing ground for talent. 
Almost everything else it touches now in terms of drama, comedy and entertainment is disastrous or merely agonisingly mediocre. And all of it has an irritating tone which marks it as BBC in a way you don’t find with other providers.
Leaving things as they are in terms of the licence fee will kill it. It needs an almighty boot up the arse and a very big spring clean to raise standards.

Horses for courses I guess as to what passes as ‘great content’, but in terms of recent personal favourites; Shetland, Line of Duty, Normal People, Guilt, The Tourist, His Dark Materials, Killing Eve, You Don’t Know Me etc, all produced by the BBC.

[19QOS19]

I asked this before and didn’t get an answer 
But how many people have be handed a prison sentence for refusal to pay the license? 

The threatening letters they send beforehand probably stop it going any further when folk will just feel intimidated to pay the thing rather than have any hassle.

[Loonytoons]

I agree with all of this up to “the BBC does produce some great content”. 
I don’t think it does anymore. Certainly not entertainment content other than the occasional gem on its online BBC3 offering. It still appalls me that they took that away as an actual channel as it actually was a developing ground for talent. 
Almost everything else it touches now in terms of drama, comedy and entertainment is disastrous or merely agonisingly mediocre. And all of it has an irritating tone which marks it as BBC in a way you don’t find with other providers.
Leaving things as they are in terms of the licence fee will kill it. It needs an almighty boot up the arse and a very big spring clean to raise standards.

I'm old school consumer and can't really get into the online viewing on any sort of regularity.
The loss of BBC3 to "normal" viewing just seemed absurd, some amazing fresh programmes come through that station.

[Shandon Par]

If there’s no BBC then who will make dramas about policemen, hospitals and middle class people with a mysterious past who happen to live in inexplicably expensive houses?

To be serious though, I find the tone of this plan quite scary. By all means, radically alter, modernise and restructure the funding. Pandering to folk who think having a national news broadcaster run as a commercial entity is a good idea is incredible. 

Finally, I’d love to find out how many P&B non-payers are aware of Open all Mics, Tom English, Richard Gordon, Sportscene etc.. weird for folk on a football site to avoid the main broadcast and reporting body for football in the country. 

[Dons_1988]

29 minutes ago, Shandon Par said:

If there’s no BBC then who will make dramas about policemen, hospitals and middle class people with a mysterious past who happen to live in inexplicably expensive houses?

To be serious though, I find the tone of this plan quite scary. By all means, radically alter, modernise and restructure the funding. Pandering to folk who think having a national news broadcaster run as a commercial entity is a good idea is incredible. 

Finally, I’d love to find out how many P&B non-payers are aware of Open all Mics, Tom English, Richard Gordon, Sportscene etc.. weird for folk on a football site to avoid the main broadcast and reporting body for football in the country. 

This is where I am. There’s loads wrong with it, mostly for me that it’s output as a public service just isn’t representative of the public it serves. It’s approach to the royal family is case in point, I just don’t think people care as much as they seem to think or want them to these days.

But that’s not to say we do away with it as a public service, it just needs to be much, much better. 

Being run like ITV or the likes would be a disaster. 

[Newbornbairn]

33 minutes ago, Shandon Par said:

 

Finally, I’d love to find out how many P&B non-payers are aware of Open all Mics, Tom English, Richard Gordon, Sportscene etc.. weird for folk on a football site to avoid the main broadcast and reporting body for football in the country. 

On the other hand there's Off the Ball, two cackling old men shouting over the top of each other and talking about Sidney Devine. I'd bin the licence fee for that alone. 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

7 hours ago, 19QOS19 said:

The threatening letters they send beforehand probably stop it going any further when folk will just feel intimidated to pay the thing rather than have any hassle.

No sadly quite a lot of people have arrest warrants issued for failure to pay TV fines, its genuinely disgusting. Mostly people in derived areas who struggle and when the inspectors come calling make admissions on the door step without having legal aid access, resulting in them being hit with massive fines they simply can’t pay. 

[Thorongil]

8 hours ago, Clockwork said:

Horses for courses I guess as to what passes as ‘great content’, but in terms of recent personal favourites; Shetland, Line of Duty, Normal People, Guilt, The Tourist, His Dark Materials, Killing Eve, You Don’t Know Me etc, all produced by the BBC.

Shetland is mid tier at best. 

Line of Duty has collapsed in quality since season 3.

Guilt is decent mid tier.

Normal People is excellent but BBC3 and underlines the point.

His Dark Materials is atrocious.

Killing Eve is good but BBC America and BBC3 and underlines the point. 

You Don’t Know Me, I haven’t seen. 
 

It’s been a very poor 5 years from the BBC.

[Bigmouth Strikes Again]

1 hour ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

No sadly quite a lot of people have arrest warrants issued for failure to pay TV fines, its genuinely disgusting. Mostly people in derived areas who struggle and when the inspectors come calling make admissions on the door step without having legal aid access, resulting in them being hit with massive fines they simply can’t pay. 

The only way you can get done, is for them to actually catch you watching live tv. If they come to the door, you just say 'no thank you' and close it. There's f**k all they can do.

[Shandon Par]

2 hours ago, Newbornbairn said:

On the other hand there's Off the Ball, two cackling old men shouting over the top of each other and talking about Sidney Devine. I'd bin the licence fee for that alone. 

Fair point. I wouldn’t be against Tam Cowan’s trial and subsequent punishment being shown on the new PPV news channel.