BBC to drop licence fee

Be careful what you wish for: -

“BBC is going to stop being funded by the TV licence”. That head line might be greeted by applause and gasps of “at last” But with reference to my last blog what would that mean?

From the 1st of November BBC will become a subscription or pay per view service only.
If the BBC became a “for profit” organisation the senirio would be different and the changes more radical, but lest assume that they remain a “not for profit” organisation at first.
From the BBC’s perspective they need the same money as they did before. They have no guarantee that they will get the same number of subscribers as licence fee payers so will have to charge more per subscriber than the licence fee cost.
As a consumer I may be happy with that as I never watch BBC. So what would be the choice for millions of people that do watch BBC? Pay more or give up BBC.
Suddenly freeview/freesat doesn’t look so attractive so subscribe to Sky/Virgin but to get BBC in the package there is a premium to pay. I could go for BT Vision and only pay for the programmes I want. But if I say watch Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You, Top Gear (building a profile of me?) Heros, at £1.50 each per week that’s £6 per week. I know these are not on 52 weeks a year but 4 programmes a week would not be unreasonable compared to what I watch now. Suddenly without any effort I’m into £312 – considerably more than my licence fee and that doesn’t include the broadband, cable or satellite basic subscription I would have to pay also.

What looks good up front isn’t going to benefit me (or most people) in the long run financially – the effects on the content long term is another matter, as is the BBC becoming a for profit organisation.