option One: have a licence and option Two: be subscription based like Netflix?
Isn’t a licence essentially the same as a subscription? It might have been better to phrase the second option as funded by advertising.
I guess one difference is in who will be allowed to buy a BBC subscription and what their influence on content would be. The licence fee restricts content to domestic British users as I understand it, but some content is then sold abroad by various means. If there's a switch to global subscriptions, possibly to allow more ex-pats to get direct content, doesn't that raise the question of what would happen if a million subscribers in America or or Russia or wherever start viewing certain programs. Surely the logic would be to make more of that content to suit them. More Springwatch from the USA, more Gardeners' World from foreign gardens. I'm not saying that would be bad but it would be a fundamental change to the BBC that we're used to.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
As of last month, cutting down and condensing,we pay £55 a month,sky,with Netflix, broadband, landline and mobile,SIM only. Before it was £100 sky, Netflix £11 broadband and phone,talk talk almost £50 mobile (sky) £6. I understand you can watch BBC free on Freeview. I don't know anyone personally under 50 who watches the BBC,a few get news on tablets, phones. We watch University Challenge,Monty, cannot honestly think of anything else.
At present Britain exercises soft power via the World Service. That would not happen with a subscription service! A public service broadcaster financed by an optional subscription is a contradiction in terms.
I don't think you can compare the BBC to the NHS or Education , you don't need a tv license for a nation to function unlike a health / education service , lots of countries don't have a TV license like Italy / Spain / Sweden and others .
I agree with how much some on the BBC earn crazy amount of money. I can't find out how much Monty gets paid I am curious though .
Italians pay for the licence fee annually (around 100 euros) AND get advertising too. Furthermore it is now charged on the electricity bill every month so you don't "forget" to pay it. And the offer is tiny compared with what is given by the BBC.
I live in Luxembourg and pay the BBC licence through my son who lives in England as he is not interested. I could have a free ride because we can receive it free in northern Europe but I choose to pay it because it is UNIQUE. Please British people do not kill the last bastion of soft power you have.
I don't think you can compare the BBC to the NHS or Education , you don't need a tv license for a nation to function unlike a health / education service , lots of countries don't have a TV license like Italy / Spain / Sweden and others .
I agree with how much some on the BBC earn crazy amount of money. I can't find out how much Monty gets paid I am curious though .
Italians pay for the licence fee annually (around 100 euros) AND get advertising too. Furthermore it is now charged on the electricity bill every month so you don't "forget" to pay it. And the offer is tiny compared with what is given by the BBC.
I live in Luxembourg and pay the BBC licence through my son who lives in England as he is not interested. I could have a free ride because we can receive it free in northern Europe but I choose to pay it because it is UNIQUE. Please British people do not kill the last bastion of soft power you have.
Yes my mistake I just had a quick look through wiki I didn't notice the electric charge .
Is that BBC 1 & 2 ( with no adverts ) included in free viewing for the whole of northern Europe ?
You need a satellite dish. It is not available otherwise. Some cable TV providers used to carry BBC Prime. So yes with a satellite dish you also have Channel 4, ITV and some others. The further south you go the bigger the satellite dish needs to be. In Rome you would need a nearly 3 metres' diameter dish. Impractical really.
I have been really surprised by this thread and how many people do not value the BBC.
I have lived abroad a few times in my life and the locals, in both Europe and the USA really value the BBC, both for the quality of its drama and the factual accuracy of its news.
I subscribe to both SKY and BT, but that is only for the sports content, other than those 99% of my viewing is on the BBC.
Wonderful value for money.
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
I rarely find anything on the BBC to watch apart from BBC4 and most of that’s on a loop. The dramas are few and far between, I’m not interested in cooking, sewing bits of material, dancing, quiz games, it’s mostly reality stuff that is cheap to make.
I know it’s the good old institution but it doesn’t hold much for me in terms of viewing. Live watched a few Call the Midwife but it would t bother me if I didn’t.
I do pay the licence fee, and will until they stop charging for it, I think it should be funded by some other means.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I prefer to buy call the midwife on dvd also any David Attenborough shows and I watch the British drag race at my sisters house. I get my news from radio or internet or even a newspaper. I never watch any live tv. I subscribe to Netflix and Amazon and that is enough for me. I think viewing patterns have massively changed in my lifetime and if the BBC is good enough people will pay for it. It’s a service, that’s all. It’s not sacrosanct.
Posts
I live in Luxembourg and pay the BBC licence through my son who lives in England as he is not interested. I could have a free ride because we can receive it free in northern Europe but I choose to pay it because it is UNIQUE. Please British people do not kill the last bastion of soft power you have.
Luxembourg
Is that BBC 1 & 2 ( with no adverts ) included in free viewing for the whole of northern Europe ?
Luxembourg
I have lived abroad a few times in my life and the locals, in both Europe and the USA really value the BBC, both for the quality of its drama and the factual accuracy of its news.
I subscribe to both SKY and BT, but that is only for the sports content, other than those 99% of my viewing is on the BBC.
Wonderful value for money.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
The dramas are few and far between, I’m not interested in cooking, sewing bits of material, dancing, quiz games, it’s mostly reality stuff that is cheap to make.
I know it’s the good old institution but it doesn’t hold much for me in terms of viewing.
Live watched a few Call the Midwife but it would t bother me if I didn’t.
I do pay the licence fee, and will until they stop charging for it, I think it should be funded by some other means.
I can't remember watching anything on ITV for months.