BBC - not free after all

Well, it was slightly mis-leeading in the previous article that I called the BBC 'provider of free channels'.

While they do not do adverts, they do get money through a more direct channel - by charging the viewers directly.

It works like the mobile phones. You don't get junk texts or calls solicited by the provider, but in return you have to pay a fee to use the service. In the case of BBC, they charge households a fixed fee per household per annum (around £160). Discounts for the elderly and black-and-white TVs.

Does it work? Well, most British have self-discipline, so it seems that most of my friends do cough up the required amount. And they always boast about their ability to check out on TV airwave receptions through their mobile devices hidden in small vans. But I am not so sure - say if I live in an apartment amongst others, it would be rather difficult to pinpoint. And if I use cabled receptors, they wouldn't be able to check out at all.

£160 is not exactly cheap, and for most working people we don't watch TV that often to make the price worth it. And given alternative ways of watching TV (online, TV cards on computers) it would be easier to evade detection. More incentives and means to watch without paying.

Most worryingly, I have a feeling that the self-discipline prided by most British is gradually crumbling (sneeky queue jumping at fastfood outlets; no more 'letting passengers alight first' in London underground. And don't just blame the foreigners, most culprits are British). The reliance on people doing as required without suitable safeguards/ check-ups will be less and less effective.

The fee-paying structure needs change. Make it fairer, and make it less reliant on self-discipline.