Auntie Beeb

I found myself pondering on the topic of subscriptions this week. Specifically, should I need to start cutting back, which of my monthly subs and memberships gets the chop first? During the three lockdowns I have signed up to a plethora of theatre apps, entertainment packages, fitness apps, magazine apps and more. Some of them come and go as their introductory offers expire. Some, such as my £2.17 pm Times Newspaper sub are so cheap that only impending bankruptcy will force me to cancel. Others, like my gym membership, are so expensive that I really ought to think about giving notice asap. The weather is getting better. I can go do jumping jacks in the park.

Netflix is absolutely a keeper, and is the reason for the above photo. Their recent flick The Dig prompted me to pay the British Museum another visit. Amazon Prime would have been at risk, but they’ve recently started putting out some good shows too. NowTV? That’ll be gone when the half price deal ends. What else could I say goodbye to without losing sleep over? The £40 plus change I hand over quarterly for my Television License springs to mind. I’ve long considered the Beeb to be sacred and prompt payment of the license fee to be a patriotic duty.

But if cut backs need to be made, and I have to start making VFM based decisions, where does that leave Auntie Beeb? I scarcely watch live broadcast television anymore. I haven’t since….when did Poldark finish? A couple of years ago. I could unplug the aerial from the back of my television and my viewing habits really wouldn’t change. I looked up the rules and regulations to see where I stand. It turns out that the only part of my numerous subscription packages which requires a television license are the live sports I watch over the internet on NowTV. Usually on my phone.

And that just irked me. Hugely. Especially when you consider the considerable lag with internet television. Is television really ‘live’ if you’re watching it two minutes after it happened? My quarterly license fee payment suddenly feels more like a charitable donation than a patriotic duty. An entertainment corporation should earn its keep by producing great content, not by holding the license fee payers hostage. The BBC should have a prominent part to play in the future of British television. But a national conversation about what the Beeb looks like in the future needs to happen rather soon. And yes. I do have some ideas of my own…