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The BBC have responded by pointing out that government regulators killed off their attempt to work with competitors to produce such a service over a decade ago

The BBC have responded by pointing out that government regulators killed off their attempt to work with competitors to produce such a service over a decade ago (Project Kangaroo), and now they’re being criticised by government for not being one. I don't think they're being criticised by government for not being a Netflix-style VOD service. The debate is as to whether they should be funded by the licence fee with all the restrictions that come with it to allow competition in the market vs. letting them do their own thing without the licence fee. The government do appear to be coming down on the side against the licence fee, but that could just be a negotiating position, at least for the foreseeable. No one as far as I can see is making the argument that a licence fee funded broadcaster should have taken that money and used it to launch a Netflix competitor.

michaelt 7y ago
They've certainly been criticised for not "attracting and retaining younger audiences" who are "increasingly turning to subscription on demand services, such as Netflix" [1] which don't need TV licenses. Of course, a Rupert Murdoch type who wanted to shut down the BBC would argue that low viewing figures prove the injustice of forcing people to pay for a service they don't use, and therefore the justice of privatising; while high viewing figures prove the viability of the BBC as a subscription service, and therefore the viability of privatising. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/24/bbc-losing-generation-viewers-ofcom-warns/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/24/bbc-losing-gener...