Comment is free: Auntie's bloomers in a twist, David Cox, Guardian, May 3, 2008

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To preserve its vast empire, [the BBC] needs a high licence fee. To retain public support for this increasingly resented impost, it must maximise its audience. Hence, populism must be pursued ever more frenetically, and seriousness must be sacrificed to pay for it. ¶ In the past, it was creative competition from rival suppliers of public service programmes that drove the BBC to conform to Sir David's requirements. The arrival of ITN woke up BBC News, World in Action put a bomb under Panorama, Five showed up the corporation's arts coverage and Channel 4 taught it how to be bolder... Only continued creative competition of this kind will prevent public service broadcasting from lapsing into cosy mediocrity... Ofcom's chief executive, Ed Richards, has spoken of "a public service trust or agency" that might channel money to organisations other than the BBC if they're prepared to fulfil public obligations. Some people argue that the current proliferation of distribution platforms might enable not just existing broadcasters but universities, museums and other such bodies to participate in such a process... [But as money for the PSP would come from the BBC's funds] a radical rethink of the way it functions is therefore needed... Currently, much of the potential income which the corporation could extract from the enthusiasts in its audience is probably going untapped. It ought to be enabled to get its hands on this revenue... The BBC's popular services should be turned over to subscription funding, something that will become technologically straightforward once digital switchover is completed... To pay for its public service programming, it could apply to the distributing authority along with other broadcasters.

• Web Address: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_cox/2008/05/aunties_bloomers_in_a_twist.html
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• Tags: business models, broadcast, media industry, competition, quality
• Saved to Future Media by Nico Macdonald on May 05, 2008.