It has been a while, so a nice gentle story to ease us back into the blogging groove.
Almost 3.5 million people have cancelled their BBC TV licence since 2013, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Many of those cancelling are moving towards legally-licence-free alternatives like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The number of TV licence cancellations has been as follows:
- 2017 (to date) = 788,605
- 2016 = 817,509
- 2015 = 875,169
- 2014 = 945,751
We have previously written some guidance on the best way of cancelling a TV licence.
Brexit Secretary David Davies said: "These reflect that millions of people feel that the BBC no longer reflects their outlook on life.
"If the BBC don’t start representing the large slice of the populace, who support Brexit and worry about immigration, then we will end up having to move towards a subscription service."
Without a hint of irony, fellow Tory Jacob Rees Mogg, The Honourable Member for the Early 20th Century, branded the TV licence model "out of date".
He added: "The BBC will have to scrap this in favour of a more modern approach - be that with advertising, a subscription model."
For its part, the BBC said that there are more licences in force than ever before - 25.8 million.
We wonder how many of those licences were bought as a direct result of TV Licensing coercion rather than legal necessity. Probably an alarming proportion of them.
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The irony is that the supporters of the licence fee claim it insulates the BBC from political influence (see the pathetic debate a few weeks ago). However, as can be seen from David Davis' comments, the opposite is true. The licence fee is a tax, collected by the BBC but paid to the government. It's the government's money and they can do what they want with it as long as they can garner enough political support. If the BBC was supported by subscription then it would be less susceptible to political pressure. It would also mean the end of the BBC's unpleasant letters and clear the streets of TV licensing goons.
ReplyDeleteIf the BBC was supported by subscription then it would be less susceptible to political pressure. It would also mean the end of the BBC's unpleasant letters and clear the streets of TV licensing goons.
ReplyDeleteThe problem for the BBC is that neither a subscription model, an advertising model or a combined subscription/advertising model would be unlikely to generate the level of revenue (about £3.7 billion last time I checked) that the current method of demanding money with menaces does.
The BBC knows this full well, which is why they crippled the technology platforms for things like Freeview to ensure it couldn't be used as a platform for turning the BBC into a subscription only service.
It seems quite clear that the BBC will not go subscription via encryption of their own volition. Nor will the current Tory Government force the BBC down that route.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, the only way to end the BBC's unpleasant letters and clear the streets of TV licensing goons is for the public to cancel their TV Licences en masse IMO.
The BBC is still addicted to easy money but there are signs that the licence fee system is under strain - the authorities in Scotland and the Channel Islands have largely moved away from prosecuting so-called evaders, preferring an out of court settlement.
ReplyDeleteCapita is finding it difficult to retain their 'field force'.
In addition, the unfairness of the prosecution system (over 70% of prosecutions are against women, for example) is starting to become known.
Some of the BBC's letters are starting to sound desperate rather than threatening.
I have the feeling the system is on its way out.