BBC chairman rejects advert/subscription funding for public service broadcasting
The new BBC chairman rejects advert/subscription funding for public service broadcasting because they shift the priority from serving audiences to profiting from them.
What an enlightened viewpoint!
And what a pity that Dr Samir Shah was not around in the 1980s to point out that the provision of power, water, and public transport are also public services, before Margaret Thatcher privatised gas, electricity, water, and rail, turning them into cash cows for rich investors – and money pits for the rest of us.
Dr Shah said “the fight is on” for the future of public service broadcasting, in his first major speech since taking over at the top of the BBC, adding that action was needed to “future-proof” such broadcasters, to prevent “a very British success story” from becoming just “part of our halcyon past”.
He questioned why there is an “almost perpetual government review over the BBC” and called for a permanent BBC charter – to bring it in line with other institutions like the British Council, the Bank of England and UK Sport.
Currently, the BBC’s charter is renewed every 10 years, when governance and regulatory arrangements are set for the following decade.
Current charter renewal discussions include a debate on “reforming the licence fee, replacing it, or coming up with a whole new mechanism” – but Dr Shah said he did not support subscription and advertising as possible future funding models because neither “pass the test” for a universal, public service BBC as they shift the priority from serving audiences to profiting from them.
It is a major split from the plans of the former Tory government, whose ministers have been trying to kill the TV licence for years.
They want the Corporation to be funded by advertisers, because then big business can call the shots, rather than public appreciation.
Labour has supported a publicly-funded model for the BBC. But will it support the idea of a permanent charter?
Stay tuned!
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of course he will he’s just another toerag BBC for a long time isn’t giving us true news it’s biased news government want you to now it’s time the licence was taken away but then theyl have to stand on their own feet wages dropping down one would expect
His statement should have been “We will not take MORE advertising revenue than we currently do”.
Remember the UKTV Network is a 50/50 – American/ BBC company who have loads of ads, one of the many unspoken BBC revenue streams.