Friday 13 May 2016

BBC will continue forever, no capitalism thanks very much


I have written this article before when there has been a charter renewal. Everytime the Government flunks it, everytime it thinks about the acres of press articles from the luvvies and decides that the battle just ain't worth it.

No Government can stem a populist hoard led by Damian Lewis and Joanna Lumley.

Instead, cravenly, the Government signs on on another 10 years of enforced taxes to pay for product that would be freely made available on the market to the same leve.

Everytime I hear how we don't want AMERICAN TV, with its adverts, tons of new programming, funny comedies and lack of right-on bias. Who would want that for free eh?

In 2016, of course it is even worse. People will now be charged to use the iplayer because the actual model of TV subscription is dead anyway due to technology progress. In 5 years smart TV's will be the only thing around, content will be king and delivery channels the utility service - think Mobile phone providers.

The BBC can produce good content, so what? If it is so good let people choose to pay for it. They will, I would pay for some of it, why not. I pay for Netflix, Sky and other bits here and there.

But by force, to appease the luvvies, the Government decides taxing is always the answer. Another sad day for capitalism.


13 comments:

Peter Whale said...

Government always prefers no choice, pay or else.

John in Cheshire said...

What was the point of all the consultation with us? I think this was going to be the outcome regardless of what people want our what common sense would say should be done. I'm thanking god for small mercies in that I can still choose not to fund this grotesque entity that is the bbc. I manage to find enough free entertainment on the internet and I don't have to resort to the iPlayer. So, indirectly because of the bbc I'm saving about £500 a year.

DJK said...

Small nitpick: American TV isn't free, at least the decent stuff isn't. HBO will set you back $150 pa, plus the cost of your local cable provider.

CityUnslicker said...

DJHK - true, but there is a wider free selection than on freeview. I have nothing against people who want to pay for telly!

Adam Smith said...

While we are at it why pick on the Beed?

We should pay for the NHS directly; any Council services directly; our roads; our transport. In fact anything we use directly from a service provider at an economic rate.

If we want low taxes, low council charges and only the items we want we should cut out these council/government middlemen and tell them to get real jobs rather than making decisions on what will be available/at what cost for us.

Timbo614 said...

So Adam, You have fire at home, Fire brigade answers with:

"Please enter your credit card number the approximate cost is in the range 7 to 10,000 pounds... or hang up." :(

Sorry, but there have to be some services paid for socially/collectively. There is no other civilised option.

I don't include the beed in that, but then my average viewing of TV is probably less that 3 hours a week and that mostly because it happens to be already on.

Adam Smith said...

@Timbo to take your argument further, that is exactly how the Fire Service started - as private operations.

But if you concerned about your property then you manage the risk. You take steps for it not to happen, rather than outsource to someone else. If you had to pay £10,000 you'd make sure you were literally fireproof. Its all about looking after yourself and not expecting others to do it for you.

If you want entertained, again why be forced to take what you are offered by those who claim to know better.

Bill Quango MP said...

Another dropped ball by the weakest government since Major's.

This is going to be the Parliament of nothing except taxation and forcing others to do the government's work.
I wish Miliband had won now.

At least that way in the future there would be something better to look forward to.

Steven_L said...

How much does anyone reckon Disney / Fox / AOL etc would pay for 'Dr Who'? It's got to be worth a bit, and there'd be another good movie to go see every year. The Americans would probably do a far better job of most BBC output to be fair.

And if we don't like American TV (like 'Breaking Bad', 'Big Bang Theory' and 'Friends') how come so many Brits watch it?

andrew said...



"Sorry, but there have to be some services paid for socially/collectively. There is no other civilised option."

...for better or worse your definition of civilised can vary from others.

In the US if you get ill and don't have good insurance you have problems - pay or die.

In the UK the fire brigades were private and fragmented until the mid 19th century.

Back on topic,

Personally I like having an organisaton that tortures itself trying to be unbiased.

I do not think they 'dropped the ball/missed a chance etc', rather cunningly, they 'paved the path'.
So for the next 10 years some people (foreigners) will have to pay to use iplayer.
In 10 years time it will be natural to extend that established principle to everyone.

Well planned great change slowly sneaks up on one and seems inevitable.

Anonymous said...

al beeb is the EU apologist in chief, for some reason totally unknown to me, al beeb carries some weight in communications (and propagandizing no doubt) recognized by world media and organizations not least the UN. Noos24 is/was widely watched from afar, the world service is listened to and hence the EU cottoned to a major source of positive PR.
The wankers who run Brussels, the last thing they'd allow, is for Westminster to inflict the pain of reality on the armies of left wing journos and rank managers, diversity apparatchiks and insane cultural Marxists who run the al beeb, Norf London chatterati/Mafia.

After all, remember, the Tories are the party of the EU, they took us in, and always were and still are EUphiliacs, it also demonstrates how much 'pull' the senior minister of the dept of media and whatevah.....Mr. John Whittingdale actually has.... < none.

James Higham said...

Joanna Lumley, LOL, what a caution.

Raedwald said...

There's a generational split here - and I find myself in the same camp as the Gen Ys / Millennials in not being willing to pay for TV. Luckily, where I live now, internet streaming of broadcast TV is exempt from a licence fee, but satellite & DVD-T receivers are taxed.

The youngsters expect digital content to be free - and they access content via portable devices not tied to a physical address. In future the licence fee will become increasingly difficult to collect as we move away from a telebox in the sitting room situation.

So the licence fee is doomed anyway and either the BBC is funded from general taxation, and subject to the same controls as all other tax-funded services, or it becomes a commercial provider selling niche / top end content, like a Netflix

PS I do miss the Virgin cable junk mail here; 250g a week of thick envelopes sent for over 15 years in a vain attempt to get me to sign up my London home to cable TV. Virtually all of which went up my Victorian chimney as free fire-lighters provided by post ....