We really do have a fantastic institution in old Auntie and although the world is rapidly changing and she has to move with the times, let’s never underestimate what great value for money it really is or what would follow in the vacuum it created. We’d lose the spirit of a pioneer and trail blazer that the world’s media has followed since the invention of the cathode ray tube. Make it either run advertising or develop an optional subscription model. There is an argument (and working in a commercial business I should buy this but sorry to disappoint, I don’t) that to see how good the BBC really is, make it stand on it’s own two feet. The way it’s funded will need to be addressed (give it more I say and see what it can really deliver) and it desperately needs to change it’s perception in the minds of politicians, their lobbyists and the public if it is to survive in its current guise. I subscribe to both Now and Netflix, which actually strengthens my belief in the value of the BBC. Sky have long been a contender to the throne and Netflix/Amazon are really pushing the boundaries of drama production, as well as the convenience of on-demand and binge viewing. Yes, through commercial pressures it’s lost many crown jewel sporting events (and many of those sports have lost a generation of fans… cricket, I’m looking at you) and there’s too many dancing/cooking/antiques shows for a bloke in his mid-forties but let’s all rejoice that it’s still the best in the world at providing world changing documentaries and news programming. For years it’s had many detractors in Parliament, the media and indeed living rooms (as well as takeaway waiting areas) up and down the country. I’m a huge fan of the BBC and believe that it’s entire offering is worth every last penny of the annual £147 license fee. I grabbed my small plastic carrier bag, thanked him and left. When he returned, I pointed this out and he just looked at me blankly. “I suppose you read the Guardian” he grumbled before wandering into the back to see if my meal was ready. “Six million of us pay our TV license every year, do you know that?” he exclaimed quite aggressively, this sounded low but again I wasn’t about to argue “That’s £9billion we give them and all they do is play repeats.” £9billion from six million licenses? Now my mental arithmetic isn’t the best but this is where I plucked up the courage to say I didn’t think it was that much. While I didn’t believe that the BBC would indeed have shown a film with such regular recurrence, I wasn’t about to start an argument with a man who clearly sits glued to his precariously balanced TV night after night. I politely nodded and agreed that indeed showing any film five times in just a few short months was a bit excessive. I don’t pay my TV license for them just to repeat this rubbish.” The owner of the Chinese continued “This is the fifth time this year this has been on. Then a voice came crashing over the Formica counter “I don’t pay my TV license for this crap.” Now I wouldn’t say MiB is one of the cinematic greats (7.3/10 on IMDb) but surely it doesn’t warrant that kind of reaction. Having seen it once or twice before and knowing I would only be sat on that hard plastic chair under a retina bursting fluorescent light tube for another five minutes, I believed the contents of my phone would be more interesting. It was the 1997 Hollywood blockbuster Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Oblivious to the portable TV playing in the corner, I hadn’t noticed what was beaming out from its fuzzy 14″ screen. As the only person in there, I did what anyone else would do and began trawling my social channels. As all good stories should start, I was sat in a Chinese takeaway recently waiting to collect a meal I’d ordered.
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