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It's worth saying the BBC has been 'doomed' for as long as I can remember. Simply pointing out that it doesn't make sense doesn't seem to have much effect on it

It's worth saying the BBC has been 'doomed' for as long as I can remember. Simply pointing out that it doesn't make sense doesn't seem to have much effect on its continued presence.

kmeisthax 5y ago
Yes, and global warming has been a problem for as long as I can remember. Just because the problem doesn't have a deliberate start date doesn't mean it isn't a problem. Collapse, whether it be political, cultural, or climatological, is one of those things that happens on such a long timescale that you don't notice it until it's too late. It's entirely possible that the BBC is maintained for another century, purely as an expensive monument to the country's history that nobody watches, before finally being rolled up in 2092. There's precedent for this in things like the royal family[0] or Brexit. Or tomorrow the Tories wind up repealing the license tax and significantly downsizing the BBC as a result, turning it into an English PBS/NPR. Knowing that the BBC is doomed doesn't tell you how long it has to live, just that things will continue to get worse until something breaks completely. [0] Conflict-of-interest disclosure: I am an American
- dreen 5y ago
  edit: incorrect info
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    > BBC World Service, which is an entirely commercial entity This is not truthful - the World Service is funded by the rest of the BBC, not the other way around, and until recently was also funded by the FCO.
    - dreen 5y ago
      Yea I got the name wrong and mistook it for BBC Worldwide
      - mattl 5y ago
        now called BBC Studios after a merge.
  - tialaramex 5y ago
    You're thinking of BBC Studios, the global for-profit arm. The BBC World Service is an international multi-lingual news and discussion service. Big budget costume drama your commercial broadcaster paid $$$ for? BBC Studios. Guy speaking your language but likely from a radio studio thousands of miles away, telling you stuff that your local news media are too scared (if they exist) to broadcast? BBC World Service. Historically the UK government saw the BBC World Service as an important way to exercise soft power, and funded it directly. That ended, and today it's all paid for out of the profits of BBC Studios and the license fee.
    - dreen 5y ago
      You're right, I was thinking of BBC Worldwide which is now part of BBC Studios. Still, it makes a lot more money than the group gets from the license fee, which was my point.
      - laurencerowe 5y ago
        That's not correct. "Licence fee accounted for 71% of BBC funding in 2019/20" https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8101/ https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-...
        dreen 5y ago
        Looks like someone gave me wrong information. Thank you, I stand corrected
    - tialaramex 5y ago
      [Although I should note that just because the World Service says it and your local news are too scared to do so, does not mean it's true...] See for example All Largely Propaganda from "Bang!" - An Open Letter by The Hafler Trio.
chrisseaton 5y ago
I don’t recall anyone predicting the demise of the BBC when I was growing up, and if they had they’d have had no evidence as there were no serious competitors at all back then. Now there are huge competitors everywhere and they’re actually higher-brow than the BBC in many cases which defeats their traditional defence against other media! The BBC looks very small and vulnerable.
- PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
  I remember the day Channel 4 started, to a chorus of cries that it would lead to the end of the BBC.
marcosdumay 5y ago
Oh, the Monty Python Flying Circus has an entire season with jokes about that.
Proven 5y ago
Well, when customer can't refuse to buy, no wonder they are still in business. It's like those poor bastards in the EU watching "European" programming on national because that's how national public circle jerk continues. National TV gets euro subsidies if they "cooperate" and broadcast public TV content from other EU countries.

It's worth saying the BBC has been 'doomed' for as long as I can remember. Simply pointing out that it doesn't make sense doesn't seem to have much effect on its continued presence.

kmeisthax 5y ago

Yes, and global warming has been a problem for as long as I can remember. Just because the problem doesn't have a deliberate start date doesn't mean it isn't a problem. Collapse, whether it be political, cultural, or climatological, is one of those things that happens on such a long timescale that you don't notice it until it's too late. It's entirely possible that the BBC is maintained for another century, purely as an expensive monument to the country's history that nobody watches, before finally being rolled up in 2092. There's precedent for this in things like the royal family[0] or Brexit. Or tomorrow the Tories wind up repealing the license tax and significantly downsizing the BBC as a result, turning it into an English PBS/NPR. Knowing that the BBC is doomed doesn't tell you how long it has to live, just that things will continue to get worse until something breaks completely. [0] Conflict-of-interest disclosure: I am an American

dreen 5y ago
edit: incorrect info
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  > BBC World Service, which is an entirely commercial entity This is not truthful - the World Service is funded by the rest of the BBC, not the other way around, and until recently was also funded by the FCO.
  - dreen 5y ago
    Yea I got the name wrong and mistook it for BBC Worldwide
    - mattl 5y ago
      now called BBC Studios after a merge.
- tialaramex 5y ago
  You're thinking of BBC Studios, the global for-profit arm. The BBC World Service is an international multi-lingual news and discussion service. Big budget costume drama your commercial broadcaster paid $$$ for? BBC Studios. Guy speaking your language but likely from a radio studio thousands of miles away, telling you stuff that your local news media are too scared (if they exist) to broadcast? BBC World Service. Historically the UK government saw the BBC World Service as an important way to exercise soft power, and funded it directly. That ended, and today it's all paid for out of the profits of BBC Studios and the license fee.
  - dreen 5y ago
    You're right, I was thinking of BBC Worldwide which is now part of BBC Studios. Still, it makes a lot more money than the group gets from the license fee, which was my point.
    - laurencerowe 5y ago
      That's not correct. "Licence fee accounted for 71% of BBC funding in 2019/20" https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8101/ https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-...
      - dreen 5y ago
        Looks like someone gave me wrong information. Thank you, I stand corrected
  - tialaramex 5y ago
    [Although I should note that just because the World Service says it and your local news are too scared to do so, does not mean it's true...] See for example All Largely Propaganda from "Bang!" - An Open Letter by The Hafler Trio.

chrisseaton 5y ago

I don’t recall anyone predicting the demise of the BBC when I was growing up, and if they had they’d have had no evidence as there were no serious competitors at all back then. Now there are huge competitors everywhere and they’re actually higher-brow than the BBC in many cases which defeats their traditional defence against other media! The BBC looks very small and vulnerable.

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
I remember the day Channel 4 started, to a chorus of cries that it would lead to the end of the BBC.

marcosdumay 5y ago

Oh, the Monty Python Flying Circus has an entire season with jokes about that.

Proven 5y ago

Well, when customer can't refuse to buy, no wonder they are still in business. It's like those poor bastards in the EU watching "European" programming on national because that's how national public circle jerk continues. National TV gets euro subsidies if they "cooperate" and broadcast public TV content from other EU countries.