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| Tories question whether BBC should be 'all things to all people' | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The BBC may be “one of this nation’s most treasured institutions”, but what and who is it actually for? That, in essence, is the question posed by culture secretary John Whittingdale on Thursday with the charter review process. | The BBC may be “one of this nation’s most treasured institutions”, but what and who is it actually for? That, in essence, is the question posed by culture secretary John Whittingdale on Thursday with the charter review process. |
| “We will question whether the BBC should be all things to all people or ... more precisely targeted,” he said in announcing a fundamental review of the BBC’s remit and purpose. | “We will question whether the BBC should be all things to all people or ... more precisely targeted,” he said in announcing a fundamental review of the BBC’s remit and purpose. |
| In other words, should the BBC, and the public service television it delivers, be a universal benefit we all pay for, or simply the bit that is left after commercially funded broadcasters make the programmes that advertisers or subscribers want to support? The other parts of the review – funding and governance – follow on from that. | In other words, should the BBC, and the public service television it delivers, be a universal benefit we all pay for, or simply the bit that is left after commercially funded broadcasters make the programmes that advertisers or subscribers want to support? The other parts of the review – funding and governance – follow on from that. |
| Related: Biggest BBC shakeup in a decade as Tories put corporation under review | Related: Biggest BBC shakeup in a decade as Tories put corporation under review |
| This argument nearly always starts with a question about whether the BBC should continue to show The Voice or some other popular entertainment. Whittingdale told the Commons that “it would be completely wrong for the government to decide” what programmes the BBC broadcasts and yet, he recently questioned the merits of making Strictly Come Dancing and said he saw none whatsoever in broadcasting it on a Saturday night. | This argument nearly always starts with a question about whether the BBC should continue to show The Voice or some other popular entertainment. Whittingdale told the Commons that “it would be completely wrong for the government to decide” what programmes the BBC broadcasts and yet, he recently questioned the merits of making Strictly Come Dancing and said he saw none whatsoever in broadcasting it on a Saturday night. |
| And yet the question is far more fundamental than that and goes to the heart of the government’s world view on public services. Should the BBC, like other great British institutions funded by a compulsory tax, continue to offer something for everyone, or let commercial rivals take over, whether US producers of television content or UK newspapers with online news? | And yet the question is far more fundamental than that and goes to the heart of the government’s world view on public services. Should the BBC, like other great British institutions funded by a compulsory tax, continue to offer something for everyone, or let commercial rivals take over, whether US producers of television content or UK newspapers with online news? |
| In this way, the BBC and its future is on the same level as the NHS or schools, paid for by everyone but already topped up by those who can afford to do so. But in a far more competitive field, why top up the BBC with the odd box set or Netflix subscription when the bulk of what the British public consumes could be delivered by others? | In this way, the BBC and its future is on the same level as the NHS or schools, paid for by everyone but already topped up by those who can afford to do so. But in a far more competitive field, why top up the BBC with the odd box set or Netflix subscription when the bulk of what the British public consumes could be delivered by others? |
| This fundamental question comes despite the fact that survey after survey shows that the British public, and not just the stars it overpays, actually like BBC entertainment. Indeed, when asked what the corporation should do most in the latest survey on the issue conducted by the BBC Trust, 64% of licence fee payers said it should entertain. | This fundamental question comes despite the fact that survey after survey shows that the British public, and not just the stars it overpays, actually like BBC entertainment. Indeed, when asked what the corporation should do most in the latest survey on the issue conducted by the BBC Trust, 64% of licence fee payers said it should entertain. |
| And by entertain, the majority of the public do not normally mean programmes about arts and culture, news and current affairs, religion, education or children, but popular entertainment from Strictly Come Dancing to Top Gear and The Great British Bake Off. Cutting off the BBC from the mass entertainment by curtailing its ability to do shows that ITV would also love to do, would be the easiest way to make it the lazy, elite body many of its critics already believe it to be. | And by entertain, the majority of the public do not normally mean programmes about arts and culture, news and current affairs, religion, education or children, but popular entertainment from Strictly Come Dancing to Top Gear and The Great British Bake Off. Cutting off the BBC from the mass entertainment by curtailing its ability to do shows that ITV would also love to do, would be the easiest way to make it the lazy, elite body many of its critics already believe it to be. |
| The fact that there has been so little public outcry against the BBC providing something for everything suggests that this argument may be motivated by ideology as much as anything else. Small-state Conservatives did not need this week’s annual report and its evidence of increased pay for top talent and increasing staff numbers to abhor what they see as the overly bureaucratic waste at the heart of the corporation. | The fact that there has been so little public outcry against the BBC providing something for everything suggests that this argument may be motivated by ideology as much as anything else. Small-state Conservatives did not need this week’s annual report and its evidence of increased pay for top talent and increasing staff numbers to abhor what they see as the overly bureaucratic waste at the heart of the corporation. |
| Yet the argument against popular entertainment is economically dubious and has few fans within the independent production sector which has partly grown strong on the back of the BBC commissions. Competition from the publicly funded BBC may be overtly unfair for true market liberals, but it has led to a media market which is among the most competitive and vibrant in the world. | Yet the argument against popular entertainment is economically dubious and has few fans within the independent production sector which has partly grown strong on the back of the BBC commissions. Competition from the publicly funded BBC may be overtly unfair for true market liberals, but it has led to a media market which is among the most competitive and vibrant in the world. |
| At the heart of a universal BBC has been a funding model backed by law. In good news and surprising for the BBC giving widespread political support for decriminalisation, the Perry report suggested that non-payment of the licence fee should continue to be a criminal offence as the alternative measures were too complex and costly. The threat of criminal sanction means that evasion rates have stuck at 5%, roughly half that for other compulsory taxes. | At the heart of a universal BBC has been a funding model backed by law. In good news and surprising for the BBC giving widespread political support for decriminalisation, the Perry report suggested that non-payment of the licence fee should continue to be a criminal offence as the alternative measures were too complex and costly. The threat of criminal sanction means that evasion rates have stuck at 5%, roughly half that for other compulsory taxes. |
| In his statement on Thursday, Whittingdale also admitted that subscription cannot replace the licence fee funding model that has survived for 93 years any time soon. Not because it is a bad idea but because technology has not advanced enough to allow him to do it and is unlikely to do so before the current charter runs out at the end of 2016. | In his statement on Thursday, Whittingdale also admitted that subscription cannot replace the licence fee funding model that has survived for 93 years any time soon. Not because it is a bad idea but because technology has not advanced enough to allow him to do it and is unlikely to do so before the current charter runs out at the end of 2016. |
| Instead the green paper asks whether the licence fee should be reformed, replaced by a household levy or replaced by some sort of hybrid model possibly with top-up fees for the wealthiest. The words “means testing” were never uttered, though again Whittingdale has made no secret of his own view that a flat-rate licence fee is “regressive” as everyone from poorest to richest pays it. | Instead the green paper asks whether the licence fee should be reformed, replaced by a household levy or replaced by some sort of hybrid model possibly with top-up fees for the wealthiest. The words “means testing” were never uttered, though again Whittingdale has made no secret of his own view that a flat-rate licence fee is “regressive” as everyone from poorest to richest pays it. |
| Three future models were also offered for the vexed issue of governance and regulation. Whittingdale could not help mentioning that even the current chair of the BBC Trust, Rona Fairhead, thought the current system was bust. Instead, he wondered whether the current system should be reformed in some way, replaced by a new standalone regulator and a unitary board, or handed over in its entirety to Ofcom and a unitary board. | Three future models were also offered for the vexed issue of governance and regulation. Whittingdale could not help mentioning that even the current chair of the BBC Trust, Rona Fairhead, thought the current system was bust. Instead, he wondered whether the current system should be reformed in some way, replaced by a new standalone regulator and a unitary board, or handed over in its entirety to Ofcom and a unitary board. |
| After weeks of leaks and counter-leaks, it seemed a bit ironic that Whittingdale called for an “open, wide-ranging, informative debate on the BBC”. But now is the time for everybody who pays, or indeed doesn’t pay, for the BBC to step forward. The decision made over the next 18 months will determine the future of the BBC and this country’s media landscape. | After weeks of leaks and counter-leaks, it seemed a bit ironic that Whittingdale called for an “open, wide-ranging, informative debate on the BBC”. But now is the time for everybody who pays, or indeed doesn’t pay, for the BBC to step forward. The decision made over the next 18 months will determine the future of the BBC and this country’s media landscape. |
| Cut out of a controversial funding deal which looks set to be further questioned in the coming months, now is the time for the public to have a voice. | Cut out of a controversial funding deal which looks set to be further questioned in the coming months, now is the time for the public to have a voice. |
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