Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 225 posts

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#61

Post by bambataa »

chrisseaton wrote: post #20

The BBC's version of the article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60014514 . > The BBC has declined to comment. Nothing more BBC than the BBC writing an article about the BBC saying that the BBC haven't commented.

Peak BBC is making a story about the BBC headline news on the BBC news website. As if anyone else cared when they opened their new offices.

I’ve never really understood the rage the licence fee provokes in a certain type of voter and I have little faith that any replacement proposed by this government will be an improvement.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#62

Post by iam-TJ »

chrisseaton wrote: post #20

The BBC's version of the article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60014514 . > The BBC has declined to comment. Nothing more BBC than the BBC writing an article about the BBC saying that the BBC haven't commented.

More likely there is no comment until the UK government makes the announcement public - rather than responding to 'informed sources'.

BBC is caught between a rock and hard place. Its journalists 'need' to report the story or risk being accused of 'censorship' for not reporting on the rumour/leak/background-briefings when other news organisations are reporting those, but at the same time the BBC board [0] (10 non-execs and 4 execs) will presumably have been preparing a measured response to publish once the UK government makes the 'official' announcement.

[0] https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/whoweare/bbcboard

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#63

Post by mkdirp »

fiftyacorn wrote: post #26

I have issues with the BBC - especially its partisan news reporting on the current government and its performance during the Scottish independence referendum, but would still like it to exist I find BBC drama is consistently of a high quality - and unlike the paid services i can watch 6 episodes and its pretty much ended. Everything on netflix/prime is like 10 seasons of 20 episodes Sad times - but im sure Rupert Mur…

> especially its partisan news reporting on the current government

I just want to say that the BBC has had partisan claims by people from all the aisles. The BBC tends to be more left leaning and progressive with a lot of its coverage, I'm assuming that's mostly because journalists tend to be, however there have been certain "coincidences" when it comes to Conservative coverage.

I don't know whether or not they're partisan, but I feel when both left and right leaning people call the BBC partisan, it feels like they're less likely to be partisan.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#64

Post by johnday »

Nextgrid wrote: post #43
cracrecry wrote: post #28

One of the great things of the Licence fee was that the Government does not get to control the national TV like it does when the one who pays is it directly. In places like Spain the national TV(and regional TV too) becomes a propaganda machine for the exclusive service of the Government(s, national and regional). It is awful to have your taxes redirected for the private interest of the Party in charge. In fact with…

The BBC is welcome to encrypt their broadcasts and sell subscriptions directly.

This is not feasible. In the UK we have Freeview [1], a free-to-access television platform which manages ~all terrestrial output.

The BBC administrates this system along with the other major broadcasters (ITV, C4, ...).

If the BBC did not put out its own output under Freeview, not only would Freeview collapse but the BBC would effectively be wiped off the face of British television.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeview_(UK)

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#65

Post by thinkingemote »

mcintyre1994 wrote: post #35

I’m not sure how much cut through this has had outside of the UK, but the government are currently in serious trouble because of constant leaks about parties in Number 10 Downing Street during the pandemic - including a particularly poorly timed one the day before the Queen was photographed at her husband’s funeral alone. The leaks are ongoing, so we know that this particular plan is part of “Operation Red Meat”, whi…

originally from the Sunday Times, pasted here because paywall https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/comments/s54g7c/boris_jo...

The other changes are:

•Announce a No 10 workplace “booze ban” in an effort to end the drinking culture in “Club Downing Street”.

•Freeze the BBC licence fee for two years to help the cost of living.

•Hand to the military control of the battle to stop illegal immigrants in the Channel.

•Unveil new plans to tackle the backlog of operations in the NHS.

•Unveil extra money for skills and job training for the 1.5 million people who are out of work and on universal credit.

•Lift the remaining coronavirus restrictions on January 26.

•Publish Michael Gove’s levelling-up white paper the following week. It aims to improve lives in neglected towns in the north.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#66

Post by thinkingemote »

iso1210 wrote: post #32
fiftyacorn wrote: post #26

I have issues with the BBC - especially its partisan news reporting on the current government and its performance during the Scottish independence referendum, but would still like it to exist I find BBC drama is consistently of a high quality - and unlike the paid services i can watch 6 episodes and its pretty much ended. Everything on netflix/prime is like 10 seasons of 20 episodes Sad times - but im sure Rupert Mur…

> especially its partisan news reporting on the current government Is that pro-government or anti-government in your view?

Some comedian said that the left think the BBC is right wing and the right think the BBC is left wing and that means it's doing the right thing.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#68

Post by Nextgrid »

ssddanbrown wrote: post #14
ssddanbrown wrote: post #9

I like much of what the BBC do and produce, especially BBC news, but the licence fee has always felt like a relic from the past with a bad strategy of enforcement (With their threatening letters and misguiding terminology as to when a license is required). Their actual broadcast service is lacking in some areas too. On BBC One HD I still get a blank place-holder screen for local news, advising to switch to the non-HD…

For those interested, this website provides a great listing of TV licensing letters: http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

It is insane that this kind of bullshit is tolerated. I don't believe any other company would get away with frequent, regular threats and misrepresentation of their level of authority.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#69

Post by iso1210 »

bambataa wrote: post #61
chrisseaton wrote: post #20

The BBC's version of the article at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60014514 . > The BBC has declined to comment. Nothing more BBC than the BBC writing an article about the BBC saying that the BBC haven't commented.

Peak BBC is making a story about the BBC headline news on the BBC news website. As if anyone else cared when they opened their new offices. I’ve never really understood the rage the licence fee provokes in a certain type of voter and I have little faith that any replacement proposed by this government will be an improvement.

In the 70s and 80s there was little entertainment other than real time broadcast TV on the 3 (later 4) channels. The BBC was a cultural institution. 20 million people would tune in to watch absolute crap, because that was really the only option other than go to the pub or play cards.

Places like the BBC Television Centre were engrained in the public zeitgest, and thus newsworthy.

This clearly isn't the case any more, there's far more choice, and the generations that grew up with "Auntie" are getting older and older.

Re: BBC licence fee to be abolished in 2027 and funding frozen

#70

Post by Nextgrid »

gundamdoubleO wrote: post #23

I remember receiving a fair amount of threatening letters about the TV licence as a student, shortly after I moved out of my parents place to attend university. It was extremely confusing and made me a little anxious. Not only did I not own a TV or watch TV of any kind, even online, any effort to make this clear fell on deaf ears and the threatening letters continued. Eventually it became normality and I learned to d…

I would love for someone to come and visit. I'd take great pleasure in wasting as much of their time as possible and make them believe I'm about to sign up for a license via them (they get commission) just to get these assholes' hopes up.

Unfortunately Capita (the company license management is subcontracted to) must really be unlucky with the "investigators" they employ because according to their letters over a dozen "investigations" have been open against me but I have yet to see anyone. /s

Post reply on HN