"The Licence Fee Can't Last Forever' Should The TV License Fee Be Frozen? | Good Morning Britain

secretary Nadin Doris this morning says the BBC license fee should be scrapped entirely yes it comes after the current culture secretary Lucy frer said the license fee should not go up in a cost of living crisis at the moment the BBC costs households 159 a year but a rise in line with inflation would see it go up to around 173 we asked if you'd be willing to pay more for the corporation Services I think that the whole of the BBC gives huge value for money total waste of money uh I don't think it's value for money for four channels not really I mean it makes you wonder whether you would go to more online streaming services yeah it's fine it's a b public broadcaster I think it's money will spend I feel like it's not fair to pay I prefer to give it to someone who need it so should the license fee be frozen broadcaster Nina michkov says it should be held but she says to help struggling viewers well former news night political journalist Michael Crick says it would still be value for money if it goes up um good morning to you both Michael used to work of course for newsight In This Very building in this building but newsight which is bearing the brunt of the cuts that the BBC is having to make what further Cuts would the BBC make what would we lose if the license fee didn't go up well I mean that would be exactly my point uh there comes a point where you can't carry on salami slicing a bit off here and a bit off there and a bit off there you actually have to start saying right we're going to have to scrap something Big Al together I mean you know like Regional television or uh uh the uh you know a certain a radio channel or local radio um and I mean the cuts on news night are drastic I mean two thir nearly two-thirds of the staff are going it's going to be sto doing investigative reporting uh most of its Specialists reported will be going it'll basically just be uh a studio based program and that's an example of what happens if you keep squeezing the license fee the license fee is very very good value for money you don't just get your television channels radio channels local radio the internet I mean it I cannot believe there are people out there who don't listen or watch some aspect of the BBC at some point during the course of the Year Lena mishkova you won over by the the the plaintiff plea don't cut don't hold no because at this time people are so squeezed financially we've got winter we're in Winter that's going to go for three or four months electricity bills gas bills um Christmas because everybody's splurging on Christmas because we're all so depressed um and come April when the when the fee was supposed to go up we we're going to be you know in debt I completely agree with Michael the BBC is wonderful the corporation provides so much but it needs to be restructured now I don't trust this government the current government to do that you know let's get this mob out get the next lot in and then people you can trust help to restructure the BBC because do you think it should go to NAD and Doris says she wants it to go to a subscription fee mon like Netflix like Disney plus like apple I don't want to see that I don't want to see that what would you how would you fund it well the I don't I'm I'm not the expert but I it seems to me you you you don't put the fees up the people the thing is the people who watch the things that the BBC in the traditional way like sit down put the Telly on what's on or watch strictly which is an absolute Delight for all of us it's just so uplifting at this time of year and and we need that or an atten program but it's not just that it's like people turn on the Telly and there's the familiar face in the corner doing the news doing a program like this what whatever so that your your friend and your family and and the people that who are suffering the most that those are people those are older people who watch television in a traditional way who don't have Netflix I mean Netflix can do wonderful dramas wonderful documentaries a not you only 50% of the country has it but other people can't afford it and they don't want that they want this companionship you talked about local radio they want the companionship of radio of but why single out the BBC and if you look at the the government's plans the Autumn statement a week ago they are going to raise the vehicle tax in line with inflation air passenger Duty in line with inflation alcohol taxes in line with inflation they're putting everything up in line with inflation why should the BBC be the people who have to have another below inflation rise when all these other taxes are going up with inflation that's ex because they can't people they can't people just can't afford it why does the BBC have to take the burden all the time uh and which is squeezing the BBC squeezing the quality of the BBC B's output now I I recognize in the long term an alternative way of funding the BBC has to be worked out I don't think the license fee can last forever um and uh it it's difficult to get everybody to pay the license fee frankly and it does appear that certain people are more a lot more 4,000 people watching without 4,000 I think it was so those are people there may be people who are just you know trying to chance but most of those people are people who cannot afford it well remember if you're over 75 and you're on pension credits at at least you can get a a free license um which is an advantage and if if we could devise a system not on pension credit you pay like I do and um and of course it's a criminal offense Michael if you don't pay so of course if you can't afford it you don't pay you get you get fined for it you have a criminal record I mean it it inspires very strong feelings look at a number of people have got in touch with this this morning Kathy just bin the BBC license it's a joke subscri description only for anyone who actually wants it April I believe we should scrap the TV license of BBC should go to adverts to make up its Revenue John frees the license fee forever serves the BBC right for charging over 75y old pension as a license fee um Beth as pensioners aged 76 we had hoped we would receive help by not having to pay anymore it's just unsustainable for us well I mean freezing it the the the the quality would inevitably go down over time uh terms of funding it by advertising well that has been suggested but the trouble is they' then be competing with you ITV and the other commercial channels there's a limited amount of advertising and and with of newspapers of course so the media as a whole would suffer and I think we you got rid of the license Fe entirely Michael I mean over 20 million people currently pay this license fee if you got rid of it and said it was going to be a subscription model then the BBC would end up a quarter a fifth a tenth of the size of now there'd be no radio region who knows how you could structure the and this is something that's got to be thought through in the long term but I suspect you're right that there wouldn't be anything like the same kind of income despite the success of Sky despite the success of Netflix we need to protect I agree we need to protect the BBC but it needs to need to the way forward is to is to restructure it because it has been fantastically inefficient you know very bloated and for many years O The Arrogant attitude ohw the BBC there are there's far too like the NHS there are far too many managers and not enough people who are actually making programs who contribute and if you wonderand through any say broadcasting house you you look and think who are all these people what do you do what what do you actually contribute to a program that when you consider the the number of programs that go on air and and and on radio I you think what do you I would be surprised if there were people in BBC Broadcasting House who are literally getting a salary for doing absolutely nothing not doing nothing but but there are ways and ways of doing it and the BBC is a wonderful the corporation is a wonderful structure it needs to be preserved it needs to be but not at the expense of people who can't afford to heat and eat yeah I mean that's the bottom line isn't it so Michael if this goes ahead if they don't get the 15 pound a year increase from I think it's April next year what will go I mean we've already seen news night become news light I I think I think it will inevitably uh staff will go and the quality of the programs will go down and I think the BBC managers will have to say right uh this is a whole area you know maybe get rid of local radio stations altogether um even that probably wouldn't make a deal get rid of BBC drama or something drastic like that I mean we're talking about big money here as soon as you as soon as things are mentioned you can imagine people got oh no but don't get rid of that I but there I say it needs to be it needs to be just smartened up well they don't all sorts of efficiency savings have been made over the years I mean there are still there's still yes but there are there still things to be done but they're not they're not on a scale there still a conversation to be had clearly we have to leave our conversation there be very clear if it wasn't for all the people you don't see behind the scenes there'd be no Good Morning Britain because they all do an hugely important job which is not seen um on the street if it was just you and me what would we be I know we well we certainly wouldn't be here we would not I I wouldn't be here cuz I started at the BBC look at least law of us here look we all we all love the corporation we do do yeah we do agreed on that

Channel: Good Morning Britain

Views: 19,871

Keywords: good morning britain, breakfast show, news, morning news, gmb, good morning britain interview, itv, susanna reid, Talk Shows - Topic, licence fee, tv licence, tv licensing, gmb debate, tv licence fee, tv licence uk, tv licences, bbc licence fee, licence fee increase, licence fee payment, bbc licence fee advert, bbc licence fee scrapped, bbc tv licence

Id: fXzrS9Gpb7A

Length: 9min 40sec (580 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 05 2023