Sell-By Date

Everything has a sell by date. Products, services, ideas. When this story appeared it reminded me of how out of date the BBC can appear to be at times.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8077839.stm

The BBC has an elevated position in the media in the UK and we pay heavily in terms of the licence fee and the legal protection the BBC enjoys in terms of competition (or the lack of it). I think the time has come to get rid of the licence fee and allow the BBC to compete openly in the market with everyone else. The idea of public funding going into an organisation that competes with the private sector is a massive no-no everywhere else except the BBC.

The notion of a licence fee has reached its sell by date.

A more enlightened form of national television that was competing openly on the market would mean increased quality and may actually take us to a point where the BBC would be able to compete for sporting events, blockbuster films and all the commercial spin off's that come along with these events.

Nothing will change any time soon. The BBC will continue to ask for more and more government money and the government will not interfere with something that's perceived as 'working'.