Should the BBC continue to be funded by the licence fee or other form of tax, or has this become an outmoded way of financing broadcasting in the modern world?

Some argue that changes in technology mean that the current approach to financing, owning and regulating the BBC is no longer tenable. Others suggest the BBC is a vital tool in the UK’s soft power arsenal and plays a crucial role in British life. What route should the corporation take? And what route should government policy take?

The UK Government has launched a public consultation on whether non-payment of the TV licence fee should remain a criminal offence. This, followed by the mid-term charter review, mark significant opportunities for the BBC, and its funding model, to change. But should we go further?

The Institute of Economic Affairs recently published ‘New Vision: Liberating the BBC from the licence fee,’ which sets out a proposal for a subscriber-owned mutual. Should that be the future of the BBC? Or should it remained funded by taxation, or perhaps privatised on commercial lines?

Join us and our panel at 12.30pm on Wednesday 9th September 2020 for a lively discussion about the potential routes the BBC may embark on, including that proposed in ‘New Vision’.

Chair: Syed Kamall, IEA Academic and Research Director
Panel:
Professor Philip Booth, Senior Academic Fellow, IEA
Mark Damazer, former controller BBC Radio 4
Robbie Gibb, former Downing Street Director of Communications and former Head of the BBC’s political programme output
Julian Knight MP, Chair, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

– Register for the webinar here.
– Read the IEA’s recent report, “New Vision: Liberating the BBC from the Licence Fee,” here.
– Our short explainer video, “Bias and the BBC,” can be viewed here.