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TV licences to be scrapped for many over-75s

Started by Fambo Number Mive, June 11, 2019, 11:20:00 AM

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Fambo Number Mive

The BBC has had to announce that only over-75s who receive pension credit will continue to have a free TV licence.

The BBC is taking a lot of criticism, but the Tories under Cameron decided to stop paying for free TV licences for the over 75s.

It's also worth noting that few people seem to be questioning what is wrong with our society when TVs are so important for the elderly. Perhaps if there were more facilities for them and libraries weren't cut so much they wouldn't need to rely on TVs.

Quote...Fresh from the 2015 general election victory, then chancellor George Osborne told the BBC it would be expected to pick up the bill for providing free TV licences as part of their cuts programme. The Treasury would no longer cover the tab. At the time, part of his reasoning was the search for savings would see the BBC cutback its online presence, allowing more space for commercial rivals – coincidentally and disproportionately right wing, Conservative-supporting newspapers – to plug their revenue gaps from falling circulation with more page views and ad clicks to their websites.

Furthermore, in an attempt to recoup income there was the suggestion the BBC would increase its commercial operations, something the then Conservative government saw as a moral good in and of itself, and which would then happily ensure a core constituent of the Tory voter coalition would continue to enjoy fee-free television.

This change, agreed between the BBC and the government as part of its licence settlement was due to be phased in last year, and be fully taken over by the broadcaster by 2020-21. What has happened? The BBC have, it appears unilaterally scrapped their agreement. Rather than fund all licences for over 75s, it has made a commitment to meet its obligation only to households receiving pensions credit. In other words, the least well off.

Naturally, Labour have proven quick to attack the removal of the benefit, with deputy leader Tom Watson criticising the government. While it was a Conservative Party manifesto pledge in 2017, incredibly the government are washing their hands of the decision and saying the prime minister is "very disappointed" with the BBC.

What has happened is the government of 2015 imposed a huge obligation on the BBC, and one it would struggle to meet, but in 2019, so riddled with Brexit-related strife, the government is weak to the point that the BBC feels it can push back on the agreement.

At the time, Osborne calculated that any future decisions it would make about the benefit would have politically neutral effects. After all, it is not the government making life hard for pensioners but dear old Auntie. Nevertheless, the BBC's announcement is surely much earlier than the former chancellor anticipated. And so we have an appearance of an institution openly taking on the government, and implicitly attacking its spending decisions...

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/bbc-licence-fee-over-75s-tory-party-pensions-credit-manifesto-pledge-a8953306.html

Alberon

Yeah, this isn't a BBC cut it's a government one.

Buelligan

I can see this change leading to a lot more over-75s being abandoned in shopping centres and motorway service stations now.  I hope this tory government will start funding the catching patrols adequately moving forward.

Fambo Number Mive

This Tory MP is trying to blame Gary Lineker and the BBC for what his government did: https://twitter.com/DavidTCDavies/status/1138344002946818049

Handy for the Tories to have something for the public to be misinformed about when their candidates are all being very critical of each other.

Cuellar

Good - they've had 75 years to save money. Maybe if they stopped spending it all on second homes in the Algarve they wouldn't be in this situation.

Sebastian Cobb

If you want to feel like kicking something until it breaks go and have a look at the unitedkingdom subreddit where people who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing are calling for it to be canned. "Nobody watches linear broadcast anyway these days granddad!".

These'll be the same people moaning that any ad-supported platform doesn't work properly (because DAI doesn't work properly) and baffled as to why there are no 4k live streams despite the BBC doing pioneering work into this during the world cup.

biggytitbo

I still like the idea of the BBC, just not the reality - which is fucking dog turd. The news and politics divisions need to totally fuck off.


Of course we know from Brexit these racist pensioners will be dead soon anyway so it won't be a problem - it's really only them left watching the BBC, with the average age a BBC viewer now in their 60s. Young people are voting with their eyeballs for other ways of watching TV or not watching TV at all, the BBC is therefore living on borrowed time.

Sebastian Cobb

The average age of all terrestrial stations is about 60, the BBC is by no means unusual. E4 is about 42.

It's never clear if these figures include just broadcast or catch-up services, but catch up is typically submitted to BARB, so probably should be counted in any meaningful calculations about viewer age.

BlodwynPig


Zetetic

Good old means-testing, the best way to kill support for a public service while pretending to be redistributive and anti-waste.

GMTV

The one show provides nourishment, warmth and entertainment. No need for heating or food.

bgmnts

Quote from: Cuellar on June 11, 2019, 11:45:57 AM
Good - they've had 75 years to save money. Maybe if they stopped spending it all on second homes in the Algarve they wouldn't be in this situation.

I imagine 75% of over 75s are languishing in shitty homes or shitty council flats to be fair.

Its shit that qnyone has to pay for a tv license anyway so fuvk em.

biggytitbo

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on June 11, 2019, 12:18:47 PM
The average age of all terrestrial stations is about 60, the BBC is by no means unusual. E4 is about 42.

It's never clear if these figures include just broadcast or catch-up services, but catch up is typically submitted to BARB, so probably should be counted in any meaningful calculations about viewer age.


Other TV services will come and go depending on how viable they are, or will find their niche, they aren't propped up by a tax everyone has to pay with threat of imprisonment. The problem with the BBC is they have to justify the tax by being all things to all people in a tv landscape that is increasingly fragmented into multiple competing services.


As bad as it looks for the BBC, I don't think things necessary look very rosy for the likes of Netflix either. The proliferation of competing subscription services, all offering different exclusive content, is fundamentally anti-consumer and cannot be sustained for much longer I feel. Netflix in particularly could easily go bust in the next few years as all they do is burn through money whilst finally facing serious competition from bigger rivals who can outspend them.

Paul Calf

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 11, 2019, 12:30:10 PM

Other TV services will come and go depending on how viable they are, or will find their niche, they aren't propped up by a tax everyone has to pay with threat of imprisonment.


Are you aware of how neoliberal this is?

biggytitbo

Quote from: Paul Calf on June 11, 2019, 12:32:07 PM
Are you aware of how neoliberal this is?


What, objecting to people being relentlessly harassed with threats of imprisonment for the suspicion of them watching TV?

Twed

No, suggesting that the market will guide us to the ideal state.

Alberon

The BBC is worth the licence fee despite all its problems.

Streaming programmes will become the norm in time, but the big battle of streaming services is just getting started. Disney are entering the ring and they have a good chance of battering Netflix into the ground.

In a way this is a golden age for TV. The new companies aren't going for profitability at the moment. They're spending massively to get and keep market share.

BlodwynPig


Fambo Number Mive

The BBC is worth the licence fee just for Panorama, which exposed Winterbourne View and Whorlton Hall.

Part of the issue is how the licence fee is collected.


biggytitbo

Quote from: Twed on June 11, 2019, 12:40:43 PM
No, suggesting that the market will guide us to the ideal state.


Nowhere did I say that. I want them all to burn down, not just the BBC and Netflix.

biggytitbo

Quote from: Fambo Number Mive on June 11, 2019, 12:48:12 PM
The BBC is worth the licence fee just for Panorama, which exposed Winterbourne View and Whorlton Hall.


Hmm, that values Panorama at £3.8bn, can't help feeling you have exaggerated there.

Buelligan

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 11, 2019, 12:52:12 PM

Nowhere did I say that. I want them all to burn down, not just the BBC and Netflix.

You're an absolute idiot biggy, there, I've said it.

If everything burnt down you would be right fucked.  You're not designed or, IMO, capable, of living outside the safe little first-world bubble you inhabit and yet you're always pushing to bulldoze the lot.  As long as your bubble's left safe, of course.  You need to take a long look in a cold mirror matey.  I say this with love.

Twed

Quote from: biggytitbo on June 11, 2019, 12:52:12 PM

Nowhere did I say that. I want them all to burn down, not just the BBC and Netflix.
I hope Sky burns down so you can't afford to be online anymore.

Howj Begg

Always knew Radio 3 would finally be destroyed because some shutins were upset about a woman Dr Who.

Uncle TechTip

Burn them all down, I can get my TV fix by rapidly flicking through a set of pictures.

biggytitbo

Quote from: Twed on June 11, 2019, 12:59:04 PM
I hope Sky burns down so you can't afford to be online anymore.

Yeah, well hope your underpants burn down.

I love how conservative and defensive some people get about it, but mainstream media needs to burn down, whether that's sky, bbc, the guardian, the times etc etc. We'll never be able to move on as a civilization until we free ourselves of their shackles.

Alberon


Buelligan

He has a point, if you want to live as a free-range contrarian nothing is a greater fencer-in than the context-heavy source-checking cowboys of the MSM.

Personally I think he should go and live on an Ickean blog reserve with the aurochs and see what happens to his account.

Butchers Blind

They could always close down in the afternoon like back in the day when they had fuck all to show.  Its all moving house and flogging the family silver in the afternoons anyway.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Alberon on June 11, 2019, 01:06:57 PM
You've gone completely tonto, Biggy.

He's right. If you haven't noticed the race to the bottom in recent decades. The MSM are all part of the wider joke on us.