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BBC faces losing sole rights to TV licence

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Published Date: 21 September 2008

By Fiona Gray

THE BBC's exclusive right to the TV licence fee will again come under threat this week as the broadcasting watchdog announces plans to help channels cope with the credit crunch.

Under the new arrangements, licence fee payers would fund a pot of £3.4bn, which would be available to any channel including the BBC to make a news programme, documentary or children's TV programme.

Industry regulators say it will help outlets suc

h as Channel 4 and ITV stay afloat as advertising revenues plummet and more viewers switch to digital.

Industry watchdog Ofcom will on Thursday launch the scheme to save public service broadcasting. But BBC bosses are fighting the plans, saying it would ruin the broadcaster's "unique" relationship with its viewer.

The announcement comes as Channel 4 warned it would have to scrap Channel 4 News and documentary series Dispatches if it did not receive financial help.

ITV has also complained about the difficulty of providing regional news, a condition of its contract, and has campaigned to be relieved of the financial burden.

Ofcom's plan to provide a communal source of licence fee money is one of a variety of measures that will be put to the Government next year. Alternatives include taking the money from direct taxation, or imposing an industry levy on internet service providers to go directly to broadcasters.

BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons said the licence fee should not be shared with other broadcasters. He said: "Let us not forget that the licence fee belongs to the licence fee payers. The licence fee is not a back pocket for Government, regulators or anyone else."

The full article contains 277 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.

Page 1 of 1

Last Updated: 20 September 2008 7:15 PM
Source: Scotland On Sunday
Location: Scotland
Related Topics: The BBC

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Guga II,

Rockall 21/09/2008 03:08:00

The EBC's '"unique" relationship with its viewer' consists of demanding money with menaces, trying to put the frighteners on a lot of vulnerable people, and punishing the less well off in society.

The iniquitous television tax should be scrapped, and the EBC should be forced to compete in the open market. If anyone wants to keep the EBC, it should be turned into an encrypted, subscription service.

As for the other television stations, the same should apply. If they can't run a station without stealing money from ordinary people, they shouldn't be in the business.

Regarding the proposal to charge an internet levy on ISPs to subsidise broadcasters, they must be joking. Just because a lot more people nowadays are on the internet rather than watching their garbage programmes, is no reason to penalise them by stealing money from them.

What other businesses get subsidies from the taxpayer because they can't run their business at a profit? Just scrap the television tax and stop penalising the less well off, including old age pensioners.

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terry osser,

morden 21/09/2008 06:08:32

i agree

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an interested party,

21/09/2008 08:37:05

hate to admit it but i agree too

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albanman,

21/09/2008 08:41:07

I agree with one statemnt; it was made by Michael Lyons from the BBC: "Let us not forget that the licence fee belongs to the licence fee payers." So, if my licence fee belongs to me - I want it back.

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Jim A,

21/09/2008 09:02:44

#1 Guga, geez mate you must be slipping, you managed to get that out without mentioning any gangster governments :-) None the less mate I agree with what you have written.

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Anonym,

21/09/2008 09:43:19

The problem with TV licencing is that we are being legally obliged to pay it in order to own a TV, wether you wish to watch BBC output or not.

This means that if I were to move to an unlicenced address I would have to pay up for the privilege of owning a TV, which I use solely to play video games and watch DVD's on. (I like DVD's because I'm hard of hearing, and they generally have a subtitles option, of superior quality to the terrestrial variety, eg the BBC news subtitling, which is terrible.)

Also, I believe the licence fee is like Jonathon Ross's wages. Far too high. We are told that it is necessary to pay for quality chat show hosting like this because otherwise the talent would defect to another channel. But then, if the talent did defect, the viewers could change channel, no?

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Maisie from Morningside,

21/09/2008 12:03:10

Channel 4 and ITV are commercial channels which should survive or fail on their own merits.
The main function of the "BBC" is to forcefeed us with English football.
I won't miss either of them.

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TimW1234,

Ottawa, Canada 21/09/2008 13:11:00

Here in Canada the fees for our CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) are picked up through the general tax bill that we all receive and most pay.

I always thought it curious whilst living in England that the BBC would send people to the door to pick up money for their broadcast fees for those who "forgot" or "neglected" to pay them.

Is this still done?

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Guga II,

Rockall 21/09/2008 16:30:36

#8 TCW.

Nowadays, they threaten people with fines of £1,000, and or gaol, if they do not pay their extortionate television tax.

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JT,

21/09/2008 17:09:17

Apart from Strictly Come Dancing I dont tend to watch much EBC programmes, at least now that setanta have the football rights we wont be forced by the EBC to watch England. Therefore I should get a rebate on the licence as its my licence fee as quoted by Lyons. I chose to pay for cable, but have no choice for the licence.If it was our "money" then we should have the right to chose what the likes of Ross get as a salary, after all how hard is a friday night chat show, film show and couple of hours on a sat morning for Ross??

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TimW1234,

Ottawa, Canada 21/09/2008 17:18:53

9 Guga II

That is appalling. It is highway robbery - and for what.

Here in Canada we get, on cable, BBC Canada and BBC Kids and they seem to have culled the best of the BBC such as Little Britain (hilarious), The Vicar of Dibley, Judge Deed, etc.

It is worth the cost here and we don't have to pay $2,000 to enjoy these and other programmes.

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Scotfree,

Erskine 21/09/2008 17:51:41

You should also note that the licence is made to massively subsidise the largest web site in the UK, which is nothing to do with broadcasting and unfairly competes with commercial media providers (including the Scotsman). The BBC is a playground and piggy bank for an Oxbridge clique. It funnels money into their own private media companies, publicises private media ventures (books DVD’s, world licences etc, takes funds away from "non Oxbridge clique " media companies (3% spend in Scotland from 10% of the licence fee) and must have the worst productivity levels in media as it is massively over-manned, with 2-5 people reading the news and English translators always required for Scottish stories and so on. All in all, why we have to pay tax for this abomination is beyond me. In terms of European law I am sure is illegal in any case.

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The Former Mr. Angry,

Perth 21/09/2008 19:14:32

The fact that the EBC is a biased Labour mouthpiece does not help its case at all. I keep thinking they might revert to what they're supposed to do then see Brian Taylor or Glen Campbell doing their dying swan act for the Blessed Wendy or the three no-hopers, not to mention his Gordonness.

It wouldn't take long for people to adjust to not having the BBC and those "you're on our database, we know where you live, if you don't pay your licence we're coming for you with £1000 fine" ads - nice.

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