{"id":473148,"date":"2022-01-17T16:25:35","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T16:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1543541"},"modified":"2022-01-17T16:25:35","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T16:25:35","slug":"the-tv-licence-would-be-a-lot-easier-to-defend-if-it-wasnt-for-bbc-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/01\/17\/the-tv-licence-would-be-a-lot-easier-to-defend-if-it-wasnt-for-bbc-bias\/","title":{"rendered":"The TV licence would be a lot easier to defend if it wasn\u2019t for BBC bias"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Reports<\/a> say the government will scrap<\/a> the TV licence in five years time. In the meantime, it’s expected to freeze the current fee at \u00a3159 per year for the next two years. Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said<\/a> she wants to:<\/p>\n

discuss and debate new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Given what we’ve previously written about BBC<\/em> bias<\/a>, scrapping the licence could be a welcome move. After all, there’s no reason why people should have to hand over their hard earned cash to a media outlet that doesn’t fully represent them.<\/p>\n

While, of course, there’s a lot about the BBC<\/em> that people value, it seems that the BBC<\/em>‘s biased role in defending<\/a> the political establishment has made defending the licence fee very difficult, and it’s made the slippery slide into privatisation<\/a> all the more inevitable.<\/p>\n

What the licence is supposed to do<\/h5>\n

The law<\/a> says we must have a TV licence if we “watch or record programmes on a TV, computer or other device as they\u2019re broadcast”. We also need one if we “download or watch BBC<\/em> programmes on iPlayer \u2013 live, catch up or on demand”.<\/p>\n

This licence fee allows<\/a> the BBC<\/em> to produce content for television, radio, and online. Part of it also goes towards rolling out broadband and funding “Welsh Language TV channel S4C and local TV channels”. The fee also means the BBC<\/em> in the UK remains advert free. So far so good – with the added benefit of knowing your favourite programme won’t be interrupted by incessant ads.<\/p>\n

So scrapping the licence will have an impact on elements of the BBC<\/em> that some people value:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Maybe we should call it the David Attenborough Licence instead of the TV Licence?<\/p>\n

— Rochelle (@ifonlyalabama) January 17, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n