Government Advisor Makes Case For Licence Fee Abolition
Influential Government advisor, Barry Cox, is set to make a high profile case for the abolition of the licence fee and is suggesting that the BBC should be partially funded by subscription.
Cox, who is deputy chairman of Channel 4 and chairman of the digital stakeholders’ group, has intensified the debate surrounding the future of the BBC by claiming that the Corporation is a “cultural tyranny”.
Cox is reportedly set to argue that the Government should set up a public service broadcasting fund to which all broadcasters, not just the BBC, would be able to bid for cash.
In an article in today’s Media Guardian, Cox writes: “Does a mature, liberal democracy such as the UK really need an institution such as the BBC in its present form? It is, in effect, a self-perpetuating department of state but without an elected politician at its head.”
He adds: “The BBC is, in its current form, a cultural tyranny – a largely benevolent one, admittedly, but a tyranny none the less. It wants to play in the big game, appealing to as many audiences a possible; it certainly doesn’t want to be confined to a minority ghetto.”
Cox goes on to argue that the BBC should stand on its merits in the future: “The BBC has great creative strength across the whole range of programmes, and understands the tastes of many different audiences. And that strength is precisely why it can and should afford, in the digital world, to rely on our willingness to pay for it voluntarily.”
Cox’s comments come just weeks after Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, warned that the BBC will face a comprehensive review to win the renewal of its charter, which runs out in 2006.
Speaking at the recent Oxford Media Convention, Jowell said that the Corporation would have to justify to its audiences that it “uses their money and earns their support by offering services that extend the range and enhance the standards of what is available to them” (see Government Promises Review Before BBC Charter Renewal).
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