John Whittingdale: BBC could be part-funded by subscriptions in future

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/19/john-whittingdale-bbc-subscriptions-licence-fee-funding

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The BBC could be part-funded by subscriptions on top of a licence fee in the future, the culture secretary has said, stressing that every option would be open to discussion in the government’s forthcoming review of the corporation.

John Whittingdale said such a funding model could not be introduced at present because there were no mechanisms available to switch off certain BBC channels to people who had not subscribed to them.

He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “It may come in time and, at that time, it is possible that we could adopt a part-funded by a compulsory fee and part-funded by subscription [system], but we’re not there yet. But we think it’s right that, at least, we should begin to think about that question and whether or not that’s a direction we may wish to move in 10 years’ time.”

On Thursday, Whittingdale announced a fundamental review of the size of the BBC, what it does and the way it is funded, and questioned whether the corporation should continue to strive to be “all things to all people”.

Public figures, from the actor Lenny Henry to the veteran political broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, have rallied to the BBC’s defence since the review was announced. In a recording of Radio 4’s Any Questions, which he hosts, Dimbleby attacked the commercial enemies of the BBC for setting out to destroy it.

“Even people within the BBC [who are] now beginning to stand up for it, fail to identify those vested interests. The Murdoch press is an enemy of the BBC for commercial reasons,” said Dimbleby, in comments that were not broadcast.

Unveiling the government’s green paper on the future of the BBC last week, Whittingdale said the scale and scope of the BBC had grown exponentially in the past decade and the time was right to question “whether this particular range of services best serves licence fee payers”.

He said an independent report into the decriminalisation of non-payment of the licence fee – which the BBC has said would cost it £200m – had concluded that it would not be appropriate under the current funding model.

Whittingdale said on Sunday: “Every option is on the table. The BBC needs to make the case, and it will be doing as part of the process, as to what it thinks is the right role of the BBC in today’s media.

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“We’ll also want to hear from other people. People who are offering alternative services to the BBC and we’re wanting to hear from the public as well, so I hope there will be the most wide-ranging debate.”

“When we last looked at the charter, most households had access to five TV channels. Now the BBC alone has nine channels and we’ve had a whole lot of new entrants into the market.

“Many people would say the BBC needs to look carefully at its programming to make sure that it’s distinctive and isn’t simply reproducing what’s available elsewhere.”

He said he was “a little surprised” that the BBC had reacted so negatively to his green paper: “It is simply a series of questions with no answers as yet decided.”

When asked if he loved the BBC, Whittingdale said: “I do. I’m a huge admirer of the BBC. I’ve said many times that, at its best, the BBC is the finest broadcaster in the world, but every 10 years the BBC’s charter expires and that’s the right time that we should look at what the BBC does, how its financed, how it’s governed and consider whether or not changes should be made.”