BBC accused of ‘overreacting to competition and criticism’ in revealing documents | United Kingdom | News

[ad_1]

BBC must appeal to ‘mass audience’ to survive, says expert

The company’s future has been thrown into question after Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said the latest licensing fee announcement would be the last. While she suggested a review would be opened on this, she said it was time the BBC explored new ways to find and sell “great British content”. Many have since added their voice to a debate that has been going on for decades.

Veteran TV presenter David Dimbleby suggested over the weekend that license fees could be linked to council tax to make it fairer, telling BBC Radio 4’s World at One: ‘License fees are something something I absolutely believe in.

“I don’t think you can have public service broadcasting without paying for it out of the public purse in this way.

“But what I think is that the BBC should recognize that £159 paid by the poorest as well as the wealthiest is just plain unfair, it’s unfair.”

Many members of the BBC, like Tim Davie, its chief executive, have since launched a disaster after the announcement, saying it will ‘affect our frontline production’ and that ‘everything is on the agenda’ when the ‘we consider what could be cut.

When reviewing previous debates over sweeping changes to the way the BBC operates, she was accused of “overreacting” to criticism or competition from commercial outlets.

BBC: The broadcaster has previously been accused of ‘overreacting to competition and criticism’ (Image: GETTY)

Broadcast: A review is about to be opened on the TV license fee (Image: GETTY)

This was seen in 1969 when politicians were considering the future of the radio license, which was to be abolished and assimilated to the TV license in 1971.

Paul Bryan, then Conservative MP for Howden, in a speech on 22 July that year, felt that the radio license was no longer justifiable given the number of other commercial radio stations that had sprung up.

He went on to note how the BBC had been spurred into action by commercial television – something the Labor Party had wanted to ban – and that radio now needed the same leeway to thrive without the BBC holds a monopoly.

Mr Bryan said: “For advertising effectiveness, a station likes to attract an entire age group or market to a program.

“There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it’s not compatible with public service broadcasting if, as I suggest, one of its requirements is to educate and bring people to better things.

“Networked broadcasting may or may not be an inevitable development, but it should not be adopted without a clear awareness of its implications.

“I have considerable respect for the BBC, but I think one of its faults in the past has been that it has always overreacted to competition and criticism, whether it was Mrs Whitehouse or Radio Caroline .”

JUST IN: NHS course calls Bible ‘racist’

Nadine Dorries: The Culture Secretary said the latest licensing fee announcement would be the last (Image: GETTY)

He then noted how the launch of Radio One in 1967 was a direct reaction to the emergence of Radio Caroline in 1964 – a British music-based radio station which was created to circumvent the BBC’s monopoly on popular music. .

The MP said it was a clear example of the BBC ceasing to be solely a public service broadcaster and entering the realm of commercial radio.

He continued, “The new plans are a reaction to the threat from commercial radio.

“The BBC argues that as a national company it needs to have a mass audience or people won’t want to pay the license fee.

“But that’s gone too far. People are now saying, ‘If BBC production is going to be 90 per cent neo-commercial, why pay for a license when we can get this kind of thing from commercial radio? “

The radio license was finally terminated on February 1, 1971.

It was first introduced by the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1923 at a cost of ten shillings (50p) per annum.

DO NOT MISS

The university decides to ban the word “maternity” [REPORT] Speak out: pressure is mounting on Boris – does he have your backing? [INSIGHT]Britain ‘loudly’ exposes EU split as it stands up to Putin [ANALYSIS]

Monopoly: For decades the BBC had a monopoly on broadcasting in the UK (Image: GETTY)

BBC Radio One: Paul Bryan said Radio One was an example of the BBC reacting to becoming commercial (Image: GETTY)

In 1946 it was extended to television sets for £2, and people could opt for a TV licence, a radio license or a combined TV and radio licence.

Arguments about the rise of commercial radio mirror today’s debate over TV licensing.

Many people say the BBC should now follow a subscription-based model, similar to that seen with popular streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Britbox had a scattered launch (March 2017 in the US; February 2018 in Canada; November 2019 in the UK; November 2020 in Australia; August 2021 in South Africa) across the world, and could be something the BBC is looking to emulate with its main services in the future.

An online digital video subscription service, it is jointly operated by the BBC and ITV, offering a number of British TV series and films, primarily featuring content and past series and films provided by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – as well as original programming.

However, it’s unclear how the broadcaster would offer its myriad other services like news, its hugely popular BBC website, podcasts and apps.

While many argue it should follow in the footsteps of popular streaming services, others say it plays a unique and important role in British life as a public service broadcaster, paid for by the people, made for the people, without profit or private interests. .

Fleur Anderson, a Labor shadow minister, slammed Ms Dorries’ decision, calling it ‘unpatriotic’.

Annual license fees: The price of license fees across Europe (Image: Express Newspapers)

Speaking in Parliament, she said the BBC World Service was “the envy of the world” and served countries around the world, stressing that it needed to be protected from cuts.

Ms Anderson said: “The reduction in funding for the BBC and the World Service is already paving the way for Russian and Chinese influence in these countries.

“Does she agree with me that only an unpatriotic party would cut funding in real terms to this national treasure?”

Ms Dorries disagreed, responding that she was ‘very patriotic’.

David Dimbleby: The veteran TV presenter said the way licensing fees work was ‘not fair’ (Image: GETTY)

Meanwhile, Mr Dimbleby, continuing his defense of the license fee, admitted that the price of the license fee needed to be looked at by the broadcaster.

He said: “And there is an easy way for the BBC to take the lead, and that is to suggest that the amount of the fee, the gross figure of £159, should not be paid as a flat rate by any the world, but the richest should pay more and the poorest less.

“And the simple way to do that would be to attach an element of the levy to the portion of council tax.

“Why should the poorest pay as much as me? It’s just not fair.”

[ad_2]