BBC Licence Fee

[Steve Williams]

This is beyond a farce ,who actually buys into the BBC couple of crap programmes all our money is going down a bottomless pit why should we pay for this when no one watches it can you actually opt out of the crap. The licence fee is a joke .Or are you happy with this ?

[Shooms]

Never bought one in my life...

[DJ barrie jay]

Compared to Sky its the best bargain going.

I like the BBC - especially the news coverage and then there is all the radio stations.

[Harri74]

The bbc (or state tv) suck in my opinion but having said that SOME of their output is of good quality, especially the Wildlife programmes. I just wish they were a little more subtle with their conditioning..

[li'l Sonz]

I quite like the "new look" bbc three! There's some pretty good stuff on recently!!

x

[Shooms]

Originally Posted by li'l Sonz

I quite like the "new look" bbc three! There's some pretty good stuff on recently!!

x

Beeb 3 & Beeb 4 are fuckin ace channels... Beeb 4 especially

Still not buying a license though

[li'l Sonz]

Originally Posted by Shooms

Beeb 3 & Beeb 4 are fuckin ace channels... Beeb 4 especially

Still not buying a license though

Scrubber! lol.

x

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

Originally Posted by Steve Williams

This is beyond a farce ,who actually buys into the BBC couple of crap programmes all our money is going down a bottomless pit why should we pay for this when no one watches it can you actually opt out of the crap. The licence fee is a joke .Or are you happy with this ?

Utter rubbish. The BBC is ace.
It's not just the telly progs funded by the licence fee, there's all the radio too for a start, to say nothing of things like the news services, symphony orchestras, drama groups and all sorts of other musical & arts groups. Literally too many to count.

It makes me mad when people diss the BBC just because they "only watch a couple of programmes and most of it is shit anyway". Inevitably this is an issue with your taste, and not with the programmes themselves. Just because you personally don't watch something doesn't mean others won't.

Subscription based or commercial based services have no option but to cater for the tastes of the populist masses. This inevitably means they are dumbed down, or ultimately answer to the advertisers who pay the bills.

The way the BBC is funded makes them impartial (despite the best efforts of successive governments). That is massively important, and something which people take for granted. It would be a sad sad day for the arts and mass media in this country if the only choices available to us were subscription services.

The BBC's not perfect, certainly there's massive inefficiency, like there is in any large organisation, but for 100 quid a year, if you watch one programme a week then you're getting value for money.

Even with alll of the advertising revenue they rake in, the subscriber services like sky/virgin can never compete with the BBC in terms of the variety they offer and the quality of the programmes they make. The fact that these services ALL cost loads more than the BBC licence, and yet they still ram ads down your throat every five minutes is what you should really be opposing.

Sorry... soapbox subject...

[simzzzz]

me missus is a producer for the beeb, lol...cant really say what she thinks incase of comebacks !!! but the recent job cuts was a joke, they got rid of the workers but the fat cats at the top whos wages are phenominal are still there. ( believe me, she has told me some of the expenses they have run up !!!! ) not fair that a lot of the workforce went and now those fortunate to still be there have to work and cover the losses, she works mad hours sometimes like 15 hour days and doesnt get any overtime for that ( 8 hours and thats it )

I dont really watch that much bbc, but where the bbc pisses all over over channels is live coverage.

big live events like News, they are the only channel to make 100% sure what they report is true, sky just want to be first to break the news and the facts are not always 100% true. the beeb has to be 100% on the ball otherwise they get into a lot of trouble over it

Also stuff like live aid, diana funneral, etc..those type of really big events where big resources are need they are at the top of the game. oh and costume dramas.

If they did use adverts and got rid of the lisence fee, there would be more money available for programs, but its never going to happen because of the manner in which it is run.

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

Originally Posted by simzzzz

the recent job cuts was a joke, they got rid of the workers but the fat cats at the top whos wages are phenominal are still there. ( believe me, she has told me some of the expenses they have run up !!!! ) not fair that a lot of the workforce went

yeah... spot on mate... thats happened a few times at the beeb in recent years... at the very top it's like a gentleman's club, and its always the footsoldiers who suffer when there are cuts to be made...
I mentioned the inefficiency... stuff like the expenses... things people charge back to the company... it really is shocking and a disgrace...

Still better than the alternatives though.

[ashley]

Originally Posted by li'l Sonz

I quite like the "new look" bbc three! There's some pretty good stuff on recently!!

x

i aways watch bbc 3 now nowt on any other channels now shameless has finished

[Jiglo]

I was thinking along the same lines the other day. Don't think it's fair that we're probably the only nation on earth that has to pay for a tv/radio corporation just for owning a tv

It would be far fairer to subcribe to the BBC channels you want to watch once the digital age reaches most of the country, failing that it should be paid for by taxes so it's paid for by more people that watch it/listen to it But I reckon it should be (at least) part paid for with advertising revenue.

Maybe not starting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would have paid for the BBC but that's another debate

[Mr Radish]

There may be some crap on the BBC, but it still kicks shite out of other broadcasters in my opinion.

I think it offers great value.

[Jiglo]

Is it fair that everybody who owns a tv should pay the fee though, regardless of whether it's watched by them or not?

It probably is the best tv corporation on earth and i'd certainly hate to go the American way that makes tv there almost unwatchable though sticking adverts on all the time giving you little chance to get into a programme or the Italian way that puts adverts on at anytime, even during a football match, meaning you might miss a couple of goals while they're showing

Least with cable and Sky you have a choice and pay for what you want to watch, with the BBC it's forced onto you.

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

That's the thing though, cable and sky are only about the telly.
People think thats all the BBC is about too but it's not.

The BBC provides loads more than just telly. The telly they do provide is miles better than any of the alternatives. It's loads cheaper than any of the alternatives. They don't answer to advertisers. They are unbiased and independent.

All that for 2 quid a week?
Bargain I reckon.