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All posts by Charles Stuart

Below are all of Charles Stuart's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.


I have heard a lot of people say that they don't have a TV licence because they only watch catch-up services online. Whether this is a legal loophole is questionable, though if it isn't, it's almost impossible to enforce the rules. Therefore, I have a proposal to close the BBC's funding gap that I think will sooner or later occur, if it hasn't already.

My idea is that iPlayer should be a pay per view service that is free for licence holders. When you choose to watch a programme on iPlayer you would have a choice of either inputting your licence number or paying to view. If I were the BBC, I would allow a number of devices per household or per person in a household to be registered; for example 1 desktop, 1 mobile phone and 1 tablet per person or 6 devices per household. Thus you'd only have to input your licence details one. I would set the pay per view fees so that it's cheaper to pay per programme if you watch 50 hours of programmes or fewer per annum. Above that, buy a licence. Maybe the BBC could be kind and say that anyone buying a 51st hour of TV within a calendar year has paid for a licence, so doesn't have to pay any more for the rest of the year. Maybe legislation could be passed that this applies to any programme supplied by a UK broadcaster to a UK viewer, so it wouldn't be 50 hours of BBC programmes but simply 50 hours of programming on UK catch-up services. Then, any pirate distributor would be committing a double offence of copyright infringement and licence fee evasion. (51.4634,-2.5264) 

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@Kevin Gardiner - I basically agree with you, though I accept that the licence fee model is flawed and I question whether or not we still have the best TV programmes in the world. I cannot see any better model for funding the BBC than the licence but as the detection of broadband-connected devices, particularly those using mobile broadband, is increasingly hard, licence fee evasion will become increasingly easy. Thus, my suggestion that catch-up TV should be pay per view but free to those who've paid their licence fee.

I have lived in the US, though many years ago, and TV there was OK and there were some good programmes but the commercials were absurdly frequent and lasted far too long. Multiply the number of ads on Sky One by 2. Sometimes it made programmes, particularly films, unwatchable. "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" is 133 minutes long according to Wikipedia. On US commercial television at the end of the 1970s, it was shown over two days, each day showing part of the film plus commercials in a 90-minute slot. Thus, assuming nothing was cut (highly unlikely) there were 47 minutes of commercials! Probably, there were closer to 60 minutes of ads. (51.4634,-2.5264) 

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I think there's an element of truth in Richard E's accusation that the BBC is a left-wing mouthpiece. There was a report on this some time ago that suggested that the problem stems from the fact that most media jobs advertising is in left and left-leaning publications. It was suggested that the BBC should advertise more in The Spectator and The Daily Telegraph to counter this. A second problem was identified as that it's human nature to favour like-minded individuals, so, if the hirers are more often than not left-of-centre politically, then the people they hire are more likely to be left-of-centre too.

There is a problem and possibly the most easily implemented solution that could work would be political party quotas on staff. However, this goes against the idea of the BBC being an impartial body. Perhaps it's that idea that is anachronistic and should be scrapped. But I think it's an idea that is dear to many people's hearts. There is a problem and there is no satisfactory solution.

I think that the licence is an old-fashioned funding system and that it will become more and more vulnerable to evasion. On another thread I suggested that iPlayer should be pay-per-view, with an exemption for people who'd paid their licence fee. Maybe the whole BBC should be offered as pay-per-view or an annual licence - take your choice. I would quite like to see a single person's discount for the licence, as with Council Tax.

I think that the BBC as it is is fundamentally an excellent broadcaster. It does, though, have an outdated funding system that is unable to adapt to a changing environment quickly. I would like to see the BBC continue, primarily funded by the licence, but I do think that how the licence is collected, who pays it and how much they pay does need a fundamental rethink. (51.4634,-2.5264) 

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BBC, plc 2017: BBC announcement | BBC 2017
Monday 24 March 2014 12:39PM

Leaving aside this nightmare scenario, what I wish is that the BBC would have a dedicated sports channel, with no sport on the other channels, except maybe the FA Cup final, Wimbledon Finals, The Open, The Grand National and maybe one or two other major national sporting events, such as the Boat Race. The BBC has lost all the decent sporting rights, except for those on that list of events that have to be on FTA TV. I admit that I don't like sport and the only ones I might watch are The Open, the Boat Race and possibly the FA Cup final if there really is nothing else on. But I do think that certain sporting events are national institutions, so I agree with them receiving the best coverage. (51.4634,-2.5264) 

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Sometimes I think that governments have to make decisions that they think are right, regardless of public opinion. I think that as a generalization, the model of TV provision in this country works reasonably well and that it would be wrong to change it, unless it becomes necessary. I think that the current model with the BBC being funded by the licence, together with ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 as commercial PSBs works. However, licence fee evasion is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. Maybe the way around the problem is that all UK television services should be encrypted and only licence holders would have a key to unlock them. Perhaps pay-per-view should be available for very light users, but be comparatively expensive if used to watch regularly.

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While I favour retaining the licence fee, with the addition of my suggestion that iPlayer should be pay-per-view, I think that a tax on subscription television could be used to pay for the non-BBC bits that the licence fee currently covers, with any left over being used to reduce or freeze the price of the licence. I would be against any other tax, except possibly on the sale of new televisions and television-related equipment, which I could see providing a small additional income that could reduce the licence fee by maybe £10pa.

I am totally against the BBC being funded by commercials, even in part, though I wouldn't object to the BBC being a shareholder in commercial channels (which I think it already is) or operating specialist subscription channels.

The only other funding model that has some attraction to me is general taxation but that raises the ugly spectre of government interference in the independence of the BBC.

I'd stop paying my council tax in protest if the BBC was funded that way! Council tax, in my opinion, should be abolished and councils almost entirely funded by block grant. And I disagree with your rating of 7 for whether it relates to the payer's wealth. I'd be inclined to give it 2 or 3, though I can see that you give it 7 because there's a microscopic correlation between a person's wealth and how much council tax they pay and the licence is a flat fee. Council tax is an iniquitous tax that penalizes badly those just a little above the bottom.

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Mendip (Somerset, England) Full Freeview transmitter
Tuesday 1 April 2014 5:58PM
Bristol

I am confident that I can fit a rooftop aerial myself. Which one would be good for an area with medium to strong signals, where do I buy it and how much does it cost?

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Mendip (Somerset, England) Full Freeview transmitter
Tuesday 1 April 2014 10:22PM
Bristol

Interesting thing is that I can receive Com 7 using an indoor aerial, with a signal booster, but the old roof aerial gets nothing. Definitely need a new roof aerial.

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Mendip (Somerset, England) Full Freeview transmitter
Tuesday 1 April 2014 10:36PM
Bristol

Dave Lindsay, thanks for your post, though I already knew the information you've given me. Being in Bristol, a Sheffield retailer isn't very convenient - I try to avoid mail order. Specifically what I want to know is where can I buy one locally and how much does it cost?

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Mendip (Somerset, England) Full Freeview transmitter
Tuesday 1 April 2014 10:42PM
Bristol

Briantist, yes, it is C/D group. I suspect it's the aerial put up with the house in 1972 and probably needs to be renewed anyway. The cable probably needs to be renewed too but income limitations mean that I can't do that yet. I'll just change the aerial for now.

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