UK Viewers Call For Change In Way BBC Is Funded

Almost 70% of people in the UK want fundamental changes to the way the BBC is governed, according to research examining the Corporation’s role following the Hutton enquiry.

A survey carried out for a Panorama special on the future of the BBC shows that just 31% of respondents support the continuation of the annual £116 licence fee in its current form.

A further 36% of those surveyed supported David Elstein’s controversial suggestion that the BBC should be paid for by subscription, while 31% want the Corporation to use advertising to pay for its programmes (see Tory Report Calls For Reduction Of BBC Licence Fee).

The poll for the Panorama – What’s the Point of the BBC? special, also found that 58% of respondents think the Corporation’s programmes are not distinctive enough from those shown by its main commercial rivals.

In a studio debate, former BBC Two controller, Sir David Attenborough, said: “I think the pendulum swung in the last five years or so a bit towards the popular and away from the more specialised.”

Despite recent criticism over the Corporation’s governance, the majority of those questioned said the BBC should continue to run its own affairs rather than be subjected to greater control from media super-regulator Ofcom.

However, Endemol UK Chairman Peter Bazalgette, producer of Big Brother and Fame Academy, said the BBC’s governance policy was an ‘accident waiting to happen’. He called for a wide-ranging shake-up of the Corporation, which would include the abolition of its board of governors.

Acting BBC director general, Mark Byford, argued the BBC governors were right to promote the BBC’s independence, but claimed changes might have to be made in the future. He said: “If the BBC stood still on anything, whether it was the programming, whether it was on the consideration of its accountability – it would be wrong because things are changing around it.”

Earlier this month Lord Tim Bell, who is is one of the best known figures in the UK communications industry, gave his support to Elstein’s proposals to break-up the BBC and abolish its licence fee (see Chime Communications Boss Backs BBC Break-Up).

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