> Over-75s are entitled to a free TV license; this was historically funded by government subsidy It was introduced in 2000 and fundamentally it was about buyin

> Over-75s are entitled to a free TV license; this was historically funded by government subsidy It was introduced in 2000 and fundamentally it was about buying older people's votes. Ultimately the BBC are part of source of their own demise - the move to digital TV allowed them to innovate and move from a licensed based to a subscription based approach but they refused to take that option preferring the soft funding of the license fee and creating ever more channels. They've got themselves in a right pickle - they justify the license fee on the basis of 'public interest broadcasting' but then spend it on stuff like Eastenders to compete with ITV (because if they're not popular the license fee becomes hard to justify) Then of course they are largely responsible for the rise of Farage who they've put on Question Time 'more than any other politician' We've got a TV license but hardly ever watch BBC