There were two major developments in the world of public service broadcasting last week (November 2020). The Government has appointed a ten-strong panel to review the long-term future of public service broadcasting in the UK. Separate from this the Government has launched a consultation on how much the BBC should be allowed to charge for TV licences from 2022.
The panel reviewing public service broadcasting in the UK consists of a mixture of people from Nicola Mendelson, in charge of Facebook Europe, former BBC Controller and Chairman Michael Grade to several prominent Conservatives including Andrew Griffith who was a senior executive at Sky until 2019 when he became the MP for Arundel. There are also representatives of independent television companies. This review will look at all public service broadcasters, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, S4C and Channel 5. There has been some criticism about the composition of the panel from amongst others the Voice of Listener and Viewers. Click on this link to read more @ https://bit.ly/3lEEejZ
The separate consultation about the level of the licence fee from 2022 will be the last before the Royal Charter renewal in 2027. The funding model of the licence fee has been guaranteed until then. There are many critics of this current funding model as in the age of streaming they believe it is defunct. However, it should be remembered that the licence fee, whilst it funds the BBC, does not just appertain to BBC services alone, as in law you must have a TV licence if you
• watch or record live TV programmes on any channel, even if it’s not on the BBC
• watch or stream programmes live on an online TV service such as ITV Hub, All 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV and Sky Go
• download or watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer
The rules apply to any device on which a programme is viewed, including a TV, desktop or laptop computer, mobile phone, tablet or set-top box. The public consultation on de-criminalising of non-payment of the licence fee from January is still to be published.
There are many myths and misunderstandings about the BBC in today’s digital broadcast landscape. If you would like to read more then click on this link @ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/23/what-now-for-the-bbc
