Huge shock as publicly funded BBC that creates world-class content delivers loads of cash to UK economy
The Guardian reports that “BBC activities generated £8.1bn in economic value last year on licence fee income of around £3.6bn,” according to Deloitte. Luckily, the Tories are there to continue kicking the BBC’s face off. After all, we can only have media companies employing lots of people and generating lots of money for the economy if they’re run by Rupert Murdoch or some other pal of senior politicians not publicly funded, because that’s not what Murdoch wants fair and open competition.
But would private enterprise have generated more economic value? Chances are yes, since if you’re forced to give people what they want to get their money, rather than taking it by force and then doing whatever the hell you like, you’ll maximise the value you get from every pound spent.
Plus the moral repugnance of taking money by force is simply unbearable. What right has the BBC to charge a tax on televisions?
“since if you’re forced to give people what they want to get their money, rather than taking it by force and then doing whatever the hell you like, you’ll maximise the value you get from every pound spent. ”
Of course, if the commercial companies are giving people what they want, while the BBC squanders it all on stuff people don’t want to watch or listen to, then the programmes on the commercial channels must consistently top the ratings. Right? Eh? Oh.
Mm. I’d also argue there’s a massive difference i giving people what they want and giving people what they didn’t think they wanted but that they actually turn out to REALLY want.
Case in point: Doctor Who. No other network in the UK or US would touch it, for a decade. It’s now huge. Only the BBC would do this show. Another: Question Time. Yeah, it’s not X-Factor, but it’s telling that Sky and other commercial channels don’t touch this kind of thing with any kind of regularity, because it won’t bring in advertising revenue.
As for ‘money by force’, I get the argument, but I guess it won’t matter eventually. Now Murdoch will get our media without much force, the BBC will be smacked into PBS-style near non-existence if he and his chums in the Commons and Lords get their way. (Personally, I don’t see the BBC fee as ‘money by force’ anyway—I see it as a public service that benefits the UK. That and about 12 quid per month would be good value for BBC Radio 6 and the news website alone.)