Comforts of Old Age and the BBC will not be one of them

I was looking forward to reaching the age of 75 because at that stage I would not need to pay the BBC licence fee; it would be a small comfort but a welcome one. Unlike many older people the decision by the BBC only to waive licence fees for the elderly who are on pension credit will not cause me hardship, but it will cause hardship to probably hundreds of thousands of older people who have over a lifetime paid thousands of pounds to the BBC which has enabled it to broadcast its programmes and pay huge salaries and benefits to executives and those it calls “talent”.There is no opt out for viewers who must pay the fee whether or not they watch BBC programmes.

The BBC says that its decision would have an impact on all licence fee payers, as continuing the current concession would make the BBC significantly worse for everyone, as it would cost £745 million a year by 2021/22. This is equivalent to around 18% of the BBC’s spend on services today. I note that the BBC has indicated that services would be cut if the concession were to be maintained, but not salaries or bonuses or “talent” fees. Making the BBC worse for everyone means cutting programmes, and not considering proper economies of staff and salaries, its palatial head quarters and luxuries that its staff enjoy.

The BBC’s decision notice is at http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/age/decision-document.pdf  

Well, for better or worse the decision has been made and many will resent it. If you want to watch TV in the UK  you will have to pay for the licence. Altogether the licence fee raises about £4 billion for the BBC. It is worth keeping that figure in mind when you next watch or listen to one of its programmes.  It seems like extraordinary poor value for money.