Clive Myrie, BBC journalist and presenter, has warned the new government headed by recently-elected Liz Truss that turning the BBC in to a subscription-based business could endanger the future of its news service.
A subscription model like that of streaming giants Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ would not work for the BBC and its public service mission as it would require the corporation to focus on programming that is “big and sellable”, he said.
At the Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture at the University of Westminster on Monday night, Myrie also warned that proceeding with the privatisation of Channel 4 could result in the loss of its flagship news programme.
“The culture secretary of our new Prime Minister has to make a renewed commitment to quality public service broadcasting, at the BBC and Channel 4,” Myrie asserted. “It is too important to be left in the hands of a free market.”
Read more on BBC funding and Channel 4 privatisation here:
Why threats to the BBC appear to have died down… for now
Freezing BBC Licence Fee is ‘direct threat’ to strength of UK news
As Channel 4’s ratings crater – could privatisation be a good thing?
