The BBC

I must confess that I have always been a fan of the BBC. Ever since I can remember - even in the days of only BBC 1 and BBC2 on TV - I found their output to be far superior to that of the 'third channel'. (in the interests of fairness I should perhaps point out that watching ITV was very much discouraged in our house. Something that I now realise was more common that a lot of people would perhaps own up to!). I drifted away to commercial radio when it first came out and it was still a novelty, but in more recent times as each local commercial station becomes part of a larger entity and loses its local feel I have returned to the bosom of the BBC. Well at least nationally - not sure I'm ready for BBC local radio just yet.

And then of course there are all of the other services that the BBC provides. Surely their online content is some of the best in the world. Their digital TV and radio channels again are far and above the opposition. Their 24 hours news offering is far and away the best presented and, in my humble opinion, most trusted news service on TV. None of the tabloid nonsense that Sky produces, or the downmarket offerings from ITV. And of course if you want a news channel with absolutely no news on it there is always CNN.

Some quick facts about the BBC: 8 national TV channels; BBC Red Button interactive TV; BBC HD; 10 national radio stations; National TV and radio services for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and over 40 local radio stations for England; BBC Online, BBC iPlayer, BBC Mobile and the BBC Channel on YouTube.

And all this without any commercials and for a paltry 39p a day.

So then, why do so many people want to change the BBC? Why do so many people regard the 39p a day as a tax?

Have the people who want to change the BBC ever seen TV abroad? Have they ever listened to anything comparable to, say, Radio 4 in the UK or another country? Do they not realize that the service provided by the BBC is the envy of the civilized, and probably not so civilized world?

I appreciate that it is impossible for an organization such as the BBC to please all the people all of the time. Indeed I don’t understand BBC3 so I choose not to watch it and the weather forecasts are quite extraordinarily bad. But these things pale when you take the service as a whole.

I fear that those who want to change the BBC are part of a bigger problem in this country. A seemingly growing number of people just like to complain about something so why not pick on the BBC? A number of people claim to never watch BBC TV or listen to BBC radio so ask why they should be subject to the license fee? Ironically I notice a number of people choose to voice these concerns on BBC websites. Presumably they want to be able to that for free then? The BBC has something for everyone, and I would be very surprised if there is anyone anywhere in the UK who owns a TV, radio or computer who has not used a BBC service at some point. If you have none of these then a) you won’t be reading this and b) stop whining as you don’t need a TV license.

ITV and other commercial channels complain that the BBC has an unfair advantage having a guaranteed income from the license fee. Surely we are not comparing like with like here? If a commercial channel produces decent output then people will want to advertise on it? If it produces dross then people won’t. Like so may companies who were happy to take the money when economic times were better, they now cry foul when the going gets tough. Should have put some money aside for a rainy day. BBC income is basically a flat line whereas commercial channels go through peaks and troughs – sometimes they will be doing far better financially than the Beeb.

There are those who complain of political bias at the BBC. The problem here is that the complaints come from all sides of the political spectrum which would rather suggest that the reporting is fair would it not? Those who complain have usually heard somebody make a comment that is not one they agree with.

Lastly, people complain about the amounts that certain celebs and management types are paid by the BBC. Surely this is simply market forces in action. The BBC pays what it does to compete with the commercial rivals. Simple.

So, I would ask those who whine at paying for Auntie take a long look at what they actually get and be grateful for what is the best broadcasting service in the world bar none.