It's not that he could scrap the fee next week or next year, even if he had every MP in the House behind him. It's part of the Charter under which the BBC operates and it lasts for ten years. The present Charter was agreed in 2017, so there's quite a long time to run.
But what Johnson is threatening to do is 'decriminalise' non-payment of the licence fee.
At present, if you refuse to pay it you get fined, and if you refuse to pay the fine you go to jail. Without that sanction, many fear, the fee becomes less a legal requirement and more a voluntary agreement.
Add to that the massive threat the BBC is facing from its digital challengers, such as Netflix and Amazon, and the fact that vast numbers of young people much prefer their phones to the telly and you begin to see the soft underbelly of the organisation exposed.
But does it matter beyond the confines of the self-obsessed media world?
Does it matter beyond the confines of the self-obsessed media world? No.
5 comments:
Not having TV, it worries me not.
Reluctantly, I now pay the fee because my daughter loves watching football. I'd rather pay a small fraction of that and purchase the bits we like, than subsidise useless left-wing comedians.
I would reduce the BBC to a couple of TV and a couple of radio channels under all new management (ie 100% of non-tech staff removed) then have a minimal licence fee of about £10 per year. The rest can all go commercial.
Hopefully there'll be mass rejection of paying this iniquitous tax if Boris decriminalises non-payment.
Can they chase hundreds of thousands, or even millions, for their pounds?
I doubt it, so decriminalisation will inevitably result in the collapse of the BBC's funding system.
Maybe they should read their charter, then try to follow its rules.
James - you aren't missing much.
Sam - that's it, you should only have to pay for the football.
Woodsy - I'd just sell it off, I don't think BBC style TV has much of a future.
Ed - yes I hope Boris does decriminalise non-payment, although I think he is only firing a shot across the bows, trying to ensure less bias. May not work though.
Post a Comment