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> Their 'channels' are netflix, amazon and disney. When I had the choice and they were pre-school then sure, we watched things like Alphablocks on iplayer. I ca

> Their 'channels' are netflix, amazon and disney. When I had the choice and they were pre-school then sure, we watched things like Alphablocks on iplayer. I can force them to watch Attenborough or Blue Peter, and they enjoy it, just not enough to want to watch them over things on disney. There's so much competition of things to do. > This itself might not say a lot, and I still have a TV license despite the limited direct value I get (listen to a lot of BBC radio, and the news website), but what's interesting is I actually work for the BBC. If my household barely watches it, where does the future lie. The entertainment sector is one of the most profitable on Earth. Marvel, Disney made billions making content that people want to watch and are willing to pay for. I'm not getting the reason why there should be government sponsored entertainment, especially seeing that people aren't even interested in watching it. Why not simply compete and let the consumer decide?

jodrellblank 5y ago
This feels like saying "why not get rid of government funded schools and have children watch Marvel and Disney instead?". The BBC's mission was to "inform, educate and entertain", Disney's and Marvels is more like "entertain, addict and profit". From Wikipedia about the origins of the BBC: > "The British Broadcasting Corporation came into existence on 1 January 1927, and Reith – newly knighted – was appointed its first Director General.[...] British radio audiences had little choice apart from the upscale programming of the BBC. Reith, an intensely moralistic executive, was in full charge. His goal was to broadcast "All that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement.... The preservation of a high moral tone is obviously of paramount importance." Reith succeeded in building a high wall against an American-style free-for-all in radio in which the goal was to attract the largest audiences and thereby secure the greatest advertising revenue. There was no paid advertising on the BBC; all the revenue came from a tax on receiving sets. Highbrow audiences, however, greatly enjoyed it. At a time when American, Australian and Canadian stations were drawing huge audiences cheering for their local teams with the broadcast of baseball, rugby and hockey, the BBC emphasised service for a national rather than a regional audience. Boat races were well covered along with tennis and horse racing, but the BBC was reluctant to spend its severely limited air time on long football or cricket games, regardless of their popularity." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC#1927_to_1939 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC#1927_to_1939 Americans will hate the state telling them what to watch for their own good, many Britons don't like the way it's the Oxbridge upper classes telling the rest of us what to watch, but regardless of that there was some attempt to be more than just entertainment, some values other than ad revenue. Has Marvel, Disney or Netflix made a Tomorrow's World, a Blue Peter, or anything like the Reith Lectures ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reith_Lecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reith_Lecture ) ?
- pharmakom 5y ago
  But equally has the BBC made a Simpsons? The Wire? Sopranos?
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - jodrellblank 5y ago
    Iconic comedy? The Office, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Only Fools and Horses, BlackAdder, Red Dwarf. Iconic political shows? House of Cards, Yes Minister. Gritty crime/drama? Peaky Blinders, Wallander, Luther. Massively popular? The above, plus Dr Who, Top Gear, Top of the Pops.
- iso1210 5y ago
  The problem is people used to watch Blue Peter, Tomorrows World and Reith lectures because there was limited choice. Now they on the whole don't. The article isn't advocating getting rid of the BBC, it's just reflecting on reality. The BBC has for a century been part of the nations culture. People from all backgrounds and all areas of the country earned their blue peter badges because they came home from school and blue peter was on. That's decreasingly the case now.
bjohnson225 5y ago
The BBC is there to “inform, educate and entertain”. It gets government(/licence fee) funding because only the last of these is likely to be profitable. The BBC is far from perfect, but its documentaries are great and it remains the most trusted source of news in the UK - give the news division a requirement to be profitable and the sensationalism that follows would destroy that trust pretty quickly. The last thing we need is a news landscape even more similar to the US.
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  > and it remains the most trusted source of news in the UK - give the news division a requirement to be profitable and the sensationalism that follows would destroy that trust pretty quickly. It's kinda interesting that the journalist supposed to criticize the government are... on the government's payroll. There's a massive conflict of interests right there. > The last thing we need is a news landscape even more similar to the US. You mean several different organizations with different viewpoints and financial support from backers with known agendas?
  - ChrisKnott 5y ago
    The BBC aren't on the government's payroll and are very willing to criticise the government.
    - 908B64B197 5y ago
      > The BBC aren't on the government's payroll But where's the money coming from?
      - ChrisKnott 5y ago
        Mainly (70%) from a TV licence, the rest from selling their IP to other markets. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_...

jodrellblank 5y ago

This feels like saying "why not get rid of government funded schools and have children watch Marvel and Disney instead?". The BBC's mission was to "inform, educate and entertain", Disney's and Marvels is more like "entertain, addict and profit". From Wikipedia about the origins of the BBC: > "The British Broadcasting Corporation came into existence on 1 January 1927, and Reith – newly knighted – was appointed its first Director General.[...] British radio audiences had little choice apart from the upscale programming of the BBC. Reith, an intensely moralistic executive, was in full charge. His goal was to broadcast "All that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement.... The preservation of a high moral tone is obviously of paramount importance." Reith succeeded in building a high wall against an American-style free-for-all in radio in which the goal was to attract the largest audiences and thereby secure the greatest advertising revenue. There was no paid advertising on the BBC; all the revenue came from a tax on receiving sets. Highbrow audiences, however, greatly enjoyed it. At a time when American, Australian and Canadian stations were drawing huge audiences cheering for their local teams with the broadcast of baseball, rugby and hockey, the BBC emphasised service for a national rather than a regional audience. Boat races were well covered along with tennis and horse racing, but the BBC was reluctant to spend its severely limited air time on long football or cricket games, regardless of their popularity." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC#1927_to_1939 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC#1927_to_1939 Americans will hate the state telling them what to watch for their own good, many Britons don't like the way it's the Oxbridge upper classes telling the rest of us what to watch, but regardless of that there was some attempt to be more than just entertainment, some values other than ad revenue. Has Marvel, Disney or Netflix made a Tomorrow's World, a Blue Peter, or anything like the Reith Lectures ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reith_Lecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reith_Lecture ) ?

pharmakom 5y ago
But equally has the BBC made a Simpsons? The Wire? Sopranos?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- jodrellblank 5y ago
  Iconic comedy? The Office, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Only Fools and Horses, BlackAdder, Red Dwarf. Iconic political shows? House of Cards, Yes Minister. Gritty crime/drama? Peaky Blinders, Wallander, Luther. Massively popular? The above, plus Dr Who, Top Gear, Top of the Pops.
iso1210 5y ago
The problem is people used to watch Blue Peter, Tomorrows World and Reith lectures because there was limited choice. Now they on the whole don't. The article isn't advocating getting rid of the BBC, it's just reflecting on reality. The BBC has for a century been part of the nations culture. People from all backgrounds and all areas of the country earned their blue peter badges because they came home from school and blue peter was on. That's decreasingly the case now.

bjohnson225 5y ago

The BBC is there to “inform, educate and entertain”. It gets government(/licence fee) funding because only the last of these is likely to be profitable. The BBC is far from perfect, but its documentaries are great and it remains the most trusted source of news in the UK - give the news division a requirement to be profitable and the sensationalism that follows would destroy that trust pretty quickly. The last thing we need is a news landscape even more similar to the US.

908B64B197 5y ago
> and it remains the most trusted source of news in the UK - give the news division a requirement to be profitable and the sensationalism that follows would destroy that trust pretty quickly. It's kinda interesting that the journalist supposed to criticize the government are... on the government's payroll. There's a massive conflict of interests right there. > The last thing we need is a news landscape even more similar to the US. You mean several different organizations with different viewpoints and financial support from backers with known agendas?
- ChrisKnott 5y ago
  The BBC aren't on the government's payroll and are very willing to criticise the government.
  - 908B64B197 5y ago
    > The BBC aren't on the government's payroll But where's the money coming from?
    - ChrisKnott 5y ago
      Mainly (70%) from a TV licence, the rest from selling their IP to other markets. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_...