On the Future of the BBC

For the benefit of nonUK readers the BBC is funded by a license fee If you have a TV that you use to watch any live TV or indeed any downloaded or streamed BBC programs via its iPlayer service you have to buy a license currently amp163159 a year For that the BBC delivers a range of TV channels radio stations and many and various other specific services There39s an overview of what is delivered hereThe license fee has been controversial for a long time Some see it as an unfair universal tax Others argue it should only be paid by those using the BBC39s services with those using it more paying more despite the fact such a move would most likely shift the burden on to those who can least afford itOthers see it as an outdated funding mechanism in an age of subscription servicesThe license fee has been a political issue for decades In 1985 thenPrime Minister Margaret Thatcher set up the Peacock Committee chaired by Professor Alan Peacock It was largely thought at the time that Thatcher hoped and expected that this would conclude that the license fee should be scrappedUnfortunately for the Government Peacock advised that the license fee should remain although he did suggest that Radios 1 and 2 the most popular and thus potentially commercial of the corporation39s radio stations should be privatizedAround the time of the Peacock Enquiry in 1985 the BBC ran a famous ad featuring John Cleese It39s recently resurfaced online as the issue of the license fee is once again being politicizedThe BBC does deliver an extraordinary range of content as this film promoting its musical output aims to demonstrateResearch indicates that most people in this country are proud of the BBC it39s known and admired around the world where the World Service is valued and outside of the UK carries adsIt is often said that politicians see television as something for appearing on as opposed to something to watch Certainly the ignorance many of them display over our broadcasting infrastructure is shockingFor example our Secretary of State for Culture under recent Parliamentary questioning seemed not to know how Channel 4 is funded She39s also threatened the BBC holding the level or even the continuation of the licence fee hostage against any perceived criticism of the GovernmentIt39s worth consideringAround 90 of the UK population views or listens to BBC output every weekWhilst the BBC is criticized on social media for being quottoo left wingquot quottoo right wingquot seems they39ve managed to upset both sides thus achieving a modicum of balance the majority of the population likes and admires itMost recent criticism of the BBC is around its news division There39s very little criticism of its drama its documentaries its nature programmes its light entertainment or even its sport coverageThe level of the license fee compares favourably with a Netflix subscription and the output delivered is far more diverseThe notion of a subscription maybe across some selected output is worth assessment although as far as I can make out nobody anywhere runs a multichannel diverse radio service on subscriptionThe BBC has an impressive and skilled audience measurement unit It appears that politicians and critics are either unaware of this a wellknown BBC broadcaster said on national radio last week that quotnobody knows who consumes the BBCquot or just ignore itI am an unapologetic fan of the very idea of the BBC but of course times change when it comes to how it39s run and fundedThis is not a matter for political gameplaying but for a national discussion and debate using both consumer data and expert opinion from all sidesAs a cynical old git of an adman I am reminded of the 198039s arguments around the agency commission system The point was made that the commission system was a hopeless model until you considered the alternativesFor example charging a client a fee based on hours would mean that an agency coming up with what turned into a massive longrunning campaign would be paid peanuts for the original idea whereas under the commission system they would be paid whenever the idea was usedThe license fee is no doubt flawed and should be rigorously examined along with other options The impact such options might have on the wider broadcasting landscape needs to be consideredWay back in the dark ages the IPA39s Media Policy Group set up a subcommittee to explore whether or not the agency business should be arguing for ads on the BBC I was on that committeeWe decided against not least because we felt that given the audience size and nature delivered by the BBC advertisers would flock to it causing irreparable harm to other commercially funded broadcasters which we felt would not be in advertisers39 interestsThe UK system BBC et al is balanced The balance may have become tilted one way or the other but we should think very carefully about abandoning it altogetherBaby and bathwater people baby and bathwaterClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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On the Future of the BBC

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Brian Jacobs

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