Reluctant licence fee payers don't like life without the BBC after all
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Version 0 of 1. What would it be like to live without the BBC? How would people react to losing the chance to see the corporation’s TV channels, hear its radio programming or access its online output? The BBC commissioned research to find out how people might cope (or not cope) without the broadcaster. So 70 families in 15 locations across the UK agreed to the blocking of all BBC services for nine days. Of those, 48 had previously said they were either in favour of not paying the £145.50 annual licence fee (and doing without the BBC) or paying only a reduced fee. According to the study, carried out on the BBC’s behalf by research agency MTM, by the end of the period of deprivation two thirds had changed their minds. Here’s an edited version of a piece by Patrick Foster in the latest issue of the Radio Times in which he charts some of the reactions. [I stress that this is his article - my words are in brackets]. ‘Being without the BBC was absolutely dreadful...’ Among those who initially declared they would rather go without were Mike O’Donnell, a retired sales manager, and his wife, Pat. “I just thought the licence fee was another tax, and not good value for money,” said Mike. A fan of EastEnders and Radio 5 Live, he said: “Being without the BBC was absolutely dreadful, just awful. I just didn’t realise how much we watched it.” Many of those who took part in the trial said that they became frustrated by having to watch adverts on commercial TV channels, and the O’Donnells were no different. “The adverts just drove me nuts,” said Mike. “I lost track of what I was watching.” One of Mike’s complaints was about weather forecasting. He said: “The weather on ITV is Mickey Mouse. You can tell that the person who’s reading it doesn’t understand it. Whereas when you watch it on the BBC they clearly know what they’re talking about and put the script together from the research they’ve done. It’s quite a profound difference.” [This may well strike the Met Office as ironic, it having just lost its BBC contract to supply forecasts]. Anyway, after nine days, Mike and his wife were licence fee converts. “I now think it’s incredibly good value,” he said. “I’d probably willingly pay even more. I’m actually quite a good ambassador for the BBC now.” The O’Donnells’ story was repeated by many who took part in the study... Sonia, a local government worker in Bristol said [prior to the BBC switch-off] she “found it hard to imagine what, as a family, the BBC gave us that we can’t get anywhere else”. During the blackout, it was a different story. “It was shocking, in that we realised how much we did watch BBC programmes,” she said. “I think we just took it for granted.” Before the trial, Sonia and her partner used to hold back on paying the licence fee until she received a final demand letter. “After the study, we just set up a direct debit,” she said. “While I still think the BBC can improve, for what we get for that money it is a very good deal. I have realised the quality of the BBC’s shows, compared with what’s on elsewhere.” [Of the 22 pro-licence fee households who took part in the project, 21 were still happy afterwards to continue paying the fee]. They included Amanda and Peter Leggett, who live in Norwich with their 15-year-old daughter, Georgie... Being deprived of BBC News was the biggest headache, according to Amanda. “My husband won’t listen to the news on anything other than the BBC,” she said. “We tried ITV and he would just rant and rave at it, so in the end I just couldn’t watch it with him.” Georgie, who is studying for her GCSEs, also missed using the BBC’s online revision material. She said: “I sometimes use the BBC Bitesize website for school, so that was a bit of a pain not being able to use that. I listen to Radio 1 in the car, so I missed that...” Not everybody initially opposed to the licence fee is a convert. One man, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “Yes, the BBC has good content, but I don’t find enough value from it because I don’t watch enough. The stage of my life that I’m in, money is always going to be an issue. Wherever I can save, I’m going to save.” At the end of the study, all the households were given £3.60, a nine-day rebate on the licence fee, which costs 40p per day. For many, that was a watershed moment. “That’s what, £12 a month,” said one unnamed participant, who was initially against the licence fee. “And we pay £70-odd a month for Sky. That’s a bit of a shock, to be honest.” One woman, however, isn’t persuaded. “It’s not a large sum of money,” she says, “but I think there could be a better selection of programmes.” For others, the tiny rebate confirms what a good deal the BBC is. “There’s nothing about our licence fee that we begrudge,” said Amanda Leggett. “We would definitely be happy to pay more. It made us realise how much we get out of the BBC for that licence fee. We get really good value for money.” The full study: Life without the BBC, |