Swathes of Brits reject licence fee
Monday, August 18th, 2008
The BBC is struggling to retain support for the licence fee as an Ipsos-MORI poll shows that almost half the British population do not find it value for money.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the Guardian newspaper, indicates that a large section of the population believe that the licence fee is poor value for money and an inappropriate method of funding BBC programmes.
According to the poll, 41% of viewers are of the opinion that the licence fee is an “appropriate” way of raising funds while 37% object to the fee. However, 47% of those surveyed do not agree that the licence fee offers “good value for money”. What is more, only 30% of the population agree that the licence fee enables “distinctive programming” not available elsewhere, one of the principle arguments in support of the fee.
The survey also found that the further north you live, the less likely you are to support the licence fee. This also applies to people in lower socioeconomic groups. In Scotland just 35% of people agree that the licence fee is an appropriate method of funding the corporation, whilst 47% disagree. 37% of people living in the north of England disagree whilst 44% agree. In London however, 41% agree and 28% disagree.
56% of those classified under the high-earning socioeconomic group AB support the fee, whilst only 32% of those in the DE group see the fee as appropriate. Similarly, readers of broadsheet newspapers are far more likely to be in favour of the fee than their tabloid-reading counterparts.
The validity of the licence fee, at £139.50 a year, has frequently been questioned and is particularly coming under fire in the current digital age when viewing is increasingly fragmented and people are likely to spend less time watching BBC programmes.
However, Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, says that for this very reason it is important to provide high-quality content to a wide audience. He has pointed to the positive effect that the BBC has on the British economy, its reputation worldwide and its contribution to British culture as arguments for maintaining the fee.
