> Nadine Dorries promises new golden age for TV
>
> Ministers have formally signalled the death of the licence fee after committing themselves to overhauling the BBC’s 100-year-old funding model.
>
> In the first big update to British broadcasting laws for nearly 20 years, the government said it would set out a timetable for a review of the licence fee over the coming months, during which alternatives would be considered.
>
> A 42-page white paper said there were “clear challenges on the horizon to the sustainability of the licence fee”, not least the streaming revolution, which has resulted in fewer people choosing to pay for BBC services.
> Ministers warned that unless action were taken to overhaul the funding mechanism, a growing number of people who refuse to pay the fee could “significantly” push up the £159 levy.
>
> Criminal sanctions for non-payment were “disproportionate and unfair”, the paper stated, suggesting that any new model would abandon this threat.
>
> “We need to consider the most fair and appropriate funding mechanism to be introduced at the end of the current charter period,” the government said. The BBC’s existing royal charter expires in 2027, meaning the government has five years to implement an alternative.
>
> Previous funding reviews have concluded that the licence fee remains the “least bad” option. Ministers will want to revisit ideas for funding models, including subscription or linking the fee directly to an existing household bill, such as internet or electricity.
>
> The BBC has said it is open-minded about a review, but continues to believe that the licence fee is the best way of protecting the corporation’s universality and independence.
Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, underlined the message of the white paper in a podcast by The Spectator magazine, in which she said the licence fee was “completely outdated”.
>
> She added that “the BBC had a problem with impartiality”, echoing the white paper, which urged the corporation to urgently introduce reforms on “groupthink”, which will be monitored as part of a mid-term charter review.
>
> Dorries has promised to usher in a “golden age” of British programming with a Media Bill that the government said would equip UK broadcasters to compete with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Apple.
>
> For the first time it will allow viewers to complain about shows and films on streaming services.
>
> Ofcom will have the power to fine the services as much as £250,000 if they break a “video on demand code” designed to protect audiences from harmful content, such as misinformation about climate change or the coronavirus.
>
> Ministers hope this will level the playing field for traditional broadcasters, which are subject to rules policed by Ofcom.
>
> There will also be provisions to tighten up so-called “crown jewel” protections, which will make sure that only the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 may broadcast big sporting events such as the FA Cup final.
>
> Digital rights, which are not covered by listed event regulations, will be protected to prevent streaming services from making viewers pay to watch sporting events. During the 2020 Olympics Discovery, the US broadcaster, had all the rights to the sporting event, with the BBC sub-licensing its output.
>
> Julian Knight, chairman of the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee, said rules that should ensure significant sporting events are free to all had “failed to keep pace with rapid changes in audience viewing habits”.
>
> The white paper has set in motion plans to privatise Channel 4, despite 96 per cent of 56,293 respondents to a government consultation opposing a sale.
>
> Critics of the plans said Channel 4’s unique public service responsibilities and duty to broadcast distinctive programming, such as the Paralympics coverage, could be eroded by a private sector owner.
>
> Ministers said Channel 4’s remit would be protected as part of a sale that will enable it to make its own programmes for the first time and raise the capital needed to compete with deep-pocketed rivals.
>
> “This is not a decision the government has taken lightly,” the white paper said.
>
Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, attacked the proposals. He argued that a profit-driven Channel 4 “would be pushed inexorably towards the same old proven formats, same old subjects, same old talent, same old producers”.
>
> The white paper proposes giving public service broadcasters greater flexibility on quotas, such as commissioning producers outside London, and seeks to protect “distinctively British content”.
>
> Ministers were not clear on exactly what this will involve, but said laws should preserve programmes that “reflect the lives and concerns in different parts of the UK”.
Dorries said: “Broadcasting has changed dramatically over the past few decades. The last time broadcasting regulation was overhauled, in 2003, Netflix was a DVD rental business.
>
> “The government is focused on ensuring British broadcasters can not only hold their own in this fight, but also flourish in projecting the best of British across the world.”
The BBC is dead, which (despite all its flaws and biases) is a shame.
When the only news we can get is from Sky ~~(Murdoch agenda)~~ and all the documentaries are from Netflix (*really* dumbed down and constantly trying to create tensions with overblow music), then we will be sorry. Think a for-profit channel would make the likes of “Blue Planet”? Look at the absolute joke that Nat Geo has become.
We’re selling off 4 as well. Well funded public sector broadcasting is part of a functional democracy. Soon we’ll be reduced to the equivalent of NPR/PBS in the USA and despite the good they do, they simply can’t compete against the privately owned agenda.
If you think the BBC is bad, imagine how bad things will when your only source of information is a media outlet run by Tory cronies.
Edit: Thanks to the 94 people who pointed out my error. I am still against 100% privately owned state media, public sector broadcasting is critical.
Fk everything about capita, I hope they collapse and burn.
I cant speak to the enormity of this but from my exp ive not paid the license fee for years as I dont consume BBC content and was never intending to again. And I imagine many in my age group feel simillar.
Huge news though.
Linking it to internet bill?! I dont want it or want to pay for it leave me alone.
Also its a bit clickbaity when its finding alternatives to something post 2027…
That’s a very clickbaity headline / article, when what it actually says is just that’s the current Tory plan
I haven’t paid a TV license for a decade. I can never imagine paying for state programming. I don’t watch the BBC. I avoid pedophiles at all costs.
Ahh man I’ll miss all the threatening red letters from capita if it does go away…….
Good fucking riddance
>Ministers warned that unless action were taken to overhaul the funding mechanism, a growing number of people who refuse to pay the fee could “significantly” push up the £159 levy.
Good. Those who want to pay more can. If the BBC can’t survive on the numbers currently willing to pay for it then clearly there is an huge issue and they need to change mode.
Is this one of Professor Umbridge’s fantastic leveling up plans
The BBC no longer knows how to tell the truth as it is ..the exaggerate it or out right lie
I don’t pay for a tv licence because I don’t watch TV. I subscribe to streaming services but save myself about £140 a year from not needing a licence which covers it comfortably.
I don’t like the fact that not paying my TV licence (legitimately) seems to align me with so many people who have warped views on life such as sovereign citizens banging on about maritime law or some other rubbish.
I think for a lot of people, if they paused to consider the value they get for their TV Licence fee, would conclude that not watching live TV is not giving up that much.
I find Channel 4’s arguments quite unconvincing though. They don’t innovate as much as they want to claim and I don’t see why they should continue to be publicly owned. The quote in this article says that were C4 privatised that it would lead to ‘same old format, same old producers’ or some such. This being the channel that broadcast Big Brother for a decade.
Won’t happen. We will be rid of nadine and the like before they get chance to action any of this. Daft drunk women she’ll get what’s coming too her
The licence fee is outdated, long gone are the days of 5 channels coming in through your dodgy indoor aerial that you have to walk around the room with to find the best signal. We have so much choice now, it makes little sense to be forced into paying for BBC whether we want it or not. They should remove the criminality element and find a way of blocking non payers from viewing the BBC, the responsibility should not be on the public. It is also a waste of court time to have a queue of stay at home mothers (they are the ones at home when the inspectors knock) coming into courts because they can’t afford to pay.
Imagine if Netflix made their content accessible to all and then started sending angry letters to all households in the UK who weren’t paying them, we would be laughing at them.
Fuckers are going to try flogging us the back that we’ve already paid for, as boxers / subscriptions.
For those wanting to turn the BBC subscription only. Think about this:
ITN is 20% owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The government wouldn’t complain if pro-Tory media companies bought-out some of the other shareholders.
The Daily Mail and General Trust could well buy Channel 4. Fox Corporation (Murdoch owned) could buy Channel 4.
Think about what happens in places like Hungary or Russia there media is heavily state controlled, we could end-up with our own dystopian version of that. Where the government can say with all honesty that the media is independent, it is, but the media is pro-Tory.
14 comments
Article text:
> Nadine Dorries promises new golden age for TV
>
> Ministers have formally signalled the death of the licence fee after committing themselves to overhauling the BBC’s 100-year-old funding model.
>
> In the first big update to British broadcasting laws for nearly 20 years, the government said it would set out a timetable for a review of the licence fee over the coming months, during which alternatives would be considered.
>
> A 42-page white paper said there were “clear challenges on the horizon to the sustainability of the licence fee”, not least the streaming revolution, which has resulted in fewer people choosing to pay for BBC services.
> Ministers warned that unless action were taken to overhaul the funding mechanism, a growing number of people who refuse to pay the fee could “significantly” push up the £159 levy.
>
> Criminal sanctions for non-payment were “disproportionate and unfair”, the paper stated, suggesting that any new model would abandon this threat.
>
> “We need to consider the most fair and appropriate funding mechanism to be introduced at the end of the current charter period,” the government said. The BBC’s existing royal charter expires in 2027, meaning the government has five years to implement an alternative.
>
> Previous funding reviews have concluded that the licence fee remains the “least bad” option. Ministers will want to revisit ideas for funding models, including subscription or linking the fee directly to an existing household bill, such as internet or electricity.
>
> The BBC has said it is open-minded about a review, but continues to believe that the licence fee is the best way of protecting the corporation’s universality and independence.
Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, underlined the message of the white paper in a podcast by The Spectator magazine, in which she said the licence fee was “completely outdated”.
>
> She added that “the BBC had a problem with impartiality”, echoing the white paper, which urged the corporation to urgently introduce reforms on “groupthink”, which will be monitored as part of a mid-term charter review.
>
> Dorries has promised to usher in a “golden age” of British programming with a Media Bill that the government said would equip UK broadcasters to compete with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Apple.
>
> For the first time it will allow viewers to complain about shows and films on streaming services.
>
> Ofcom will have the power to fine the services as much as £250,000 if they break a “video on demand code” designed to protect audiences from harmful content, such as misinformation about climate change or the coronavirus.
>
> Ministers hope this will level the playing field for traditional broadcasters, which are subject to rules policed by Ofcom.
>
> There will also be provisions to tighten up so-called “crown jewel” protections, which will make sure that only the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 may broadcast big sporting events such as the FA Cup final.
>
> Digital rights, which are not covered by listed event regulations, will be protected to prevent streaming services from making viewers pay to watch sporting events. During the 2020 Olympics Discovery, the US broadcaster, had all the rights to the sporting event, with the BBC sub-licensing its output.
>
> Julian Knight, chairman of the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee, said rules that should ensure significant sporting events are free to all had “failed to keep pace with rapid changes in audience viewing habits”.
>
> The white paper has set in motion plans to privatise Channel 4, despite 96 per cent of 56,293 respondents to a government consultation opposing a sale.
>
> Critics of the plans said Channel 4’s unique public service responsibilities and duty to broadcast distinctive programming, such as the Paralympics coverage, could be eroded by a private sector owner.
>
> Ministers said Channel 4’s remit would be protected as part of a sale that will enable it to make its own programmes for the first time and raise the capital needed to compete with deep-pocketed rivals.
>
> “This is not a decision the government has taken lightly,” the white paper said.
>
Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, attacked the proposals. He argued that a profit-driven Channel 4 “would be pushed inexorably towards the same old proven formats, same old subjects, same old talent, same old producers”.
>
> The white paper proposes giving public service broadcasters greater flexibility on quotas, such as commissioning producers outside London, and seeks to protect “distinctively British content”.
>
> Ministers were not clear on exactly what this will involve, but said laws should preserve programmes that “reflect the lives and concerns in different parts of the UK”.
Dorries said: “Broadcasting has changed dramatically over the past few decades. The last time broadcasting regulation was overhauled, in 2003, Netflix was a DVD rental business.
>
> “The government is focused on ensuring British broadcasters can not only hold their own in this fight, but also flourish in projecting the best of British across the world.”
The BBC is dead, which (despite all its flaws and biases) is a shame.
When the only news we can get is from Sky ~~(Murdoch agenda)~~ and all the documentaries are from Netflix (*really* dumbed down and constantly trying to create tensions with overblow music), then we will be sorry. Think a for-profit channel would make the likes of “Blue Planet”? Look at the absolute joke that Nat Geo has become.
We’re selling off 4 as well. Well funded public sector broadcasting is part of a functional democracy. Soon we’ll be reduced to the equivalent of NPR/PBS in the USA and despite the good they do, they simply can’t compete against the privately owned agenda.
If you think the BBC is bad, imagine how bad things will when your only source of information is a media outlet run by Tory cronies.
Edit: Thanks to the 94 people who pointed out my error. I am still against 100% privately owned state media, public sector broadcasting is critical.
Fk everything about capita, I hope they collapse and burn.
I cant speak to the enormity of this but from my exp ive not paid the license fee for years as I dont consume BBC content and was never intending to again. And I imagine many in my age group feel simillar.
Huge news though.
Linking it to internet bill?! I dont want it or want to pay for it leave me alone.
Also its a bit clickbaity when its finding alternatives to something post 2027…
That’s a very clickbaity headline / article, when what it actually says is just that’s the current Tory plan
I haven’t paid a TV license for a decade. I can never imagine paying for state programming. I don’t watch the BBC. I avoid pedophiles at all costs.
Ahh man I’ll miss all the threatening red letters from capita if it does go away…….
Good fucking riddance
>Ministers warned that unless action were taken to overhaul the funding mechanism, a growing number of people who refuse to pay the fee could “significantly” push up the £159 levy.
Good. Those who want to pay more can. If the BBC can’t survive on the numbers currently willing to pay for it then clearly there is an huge issue and they need to change mode.
Is this one of Professor Umbridge’s fantastic leveling up plans
The BBC no longer knows how to tell the truth as it is ..the exaggerate it or out right lie
I don’t pay for a tv licence because I don’t watch TV. I subscribe to streaming services but save myself about £140 a year from not needing a licence which covers it comfortably.
I don’t like the fact that not paying my TV licence (legitimately) seems to align me with so many people who have warped views on life such as sovereign citizens banging on about maritime law or some other rubbish.
I think for a lot of people, if they paused to consider the value they get for their TV Licence fee, would conclude that not watching live TV is not giving up that much.
I find Channel 4’s arguments quite unconvincing though. They don’t innovate as much as they want to claim and I don’t see why they should continue to be publicly owned. The quote in this article says that were C4 privatised that it would lead to ‘same old format, same old producers’ or some such. This being the channel that broadcast Big Brother for a decade.
Won’t happen. We will be rid of nadine and the like before they get chance to action any of this. Daft drunk women she’ll get what’s coming too her
The licence fee is outdated, long gone are the days of 5 channels coming in through your dodgy indoor aerial that you have to walk around the room with to find the best signal. We have so much choice now, it makes little sense to be forced into paying for BBC whether we want it or not. They should remove the criminality element and find a way of blocking non payers from viewing the BBC, the responsibility should not be on the public. It is also a waste of court time to have a queue of stay at home mothers (they are the ones at home when the inspectors knock) coming into courts because they can’t afford to pay.
Imagine if Netflix made their content accessible to all and then started sending angry letters to all households in the UK who weren’t paying them, we would be laughing at them.
Fuckers are going to try flogging us the back that we’ve already paid for, as boxers / subscriptions.
For those wanting to turn the BBC subscription only. Think about this:
ITN is 20% owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The government wouldn’t complain if pro-Tory media companies bought-out some of the other shareholders.
The Daily Mail and General Trust could well buy Channel 4. Fox Corporation (Murdoch owned) could buy Channel 4.
Think about what happens in places like Hungary or Russia there media is heavily state controlled, we could end-up with our own dystopian version of that. Where the government can say with all honesty that the media is independent, it is, but the media is pro-Tory.