UK TV channel BBC3 has recently 'Moved online' Some would say 'closed down', others 'streamlined' or 'future-proofed'. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35578867 The end of the road for the License Fee?
Here's my opinion. The BBC is going to have to change the 'Television License' beyond recognition. They are going to have to move towards MICRO PAYMENTS for streamed or downloaded content. In the Digital age, the TV License is outdated. In the future, they will have to resemble the services provided by subscriber service competitors like YOUTUBE, NETFLIX and AMAZON - all of whom will probably end up charging for content too. All of whom are increasing their market share. Consumers paying for the things they watch - not all TV owners paying regardless of how much they watch. A multi-platform world market.
People are streaming more content than ever before. The BBC Trust itself has acknowledged that:
"..independent evidence shows younger audiences are watching more online and watching less linear TV".
This means that 'TV schedules' are going to become less and less relevant. The idea of 'the watershed' is already, long dead. People are watching content on phones, tablets, computers, in cars, on trains, in pubs, 24hours a day. ON DEMAND. Most stations offer a catch-up service or online version.
Younger audiences are selecting content from all over the world. You can choose streaming services such as 'Kodi' to watch content from all around the world. Obviously, the powers-that-be will try to stop people watching content over national borders but, in time, it is the inevitability of choice. People are watching what they like, when they like. For them, a television license is anachronistic. You don't need a tv, don't need a schedule.
People from 'traditional', licensed households are also recording/downloading/streaming more content than ever, watching it when they want. They are also using recorders to skip adverts on channels that fund themselves through advertising. This means that advertising revenue from TV shows is also being pinched. You no longer need a TV or license to watch these channels so why pay for one? Prepare for more 'in show' product placements, opening adverts that can't be skipped or be prepared to pay a fee to watch a corporate, sponsored show. Is this the future of viewing? E.g "Mr.Robot", "The Rack Pack", "Making a Murderer".
As we go forward, fewer people will be paying for a TV license - potentially decriminalised - and the BBC needs to prepare for a future where people no longer HAVE to pay for them. Can you own a TV and only watch 'Channel5' or foreign content, for example? If not, why not? If you only watch American shows online, for free, on a tablet, do you need to pay a yearly fee to the BBC? Markets change. Global markets change rapidly.
The BBC need to streamline yet diversify, create new content, on-line, for subscription. They need to provide a service that people can CHOOSE to watch and CHOOSE to pay for. Programmes funded by audience figures - how many viewers they can attract. The problem they face is that this is now going to be the model for many other content providers, all trying to pull viewers to their channels. Things are changing fast these days and if you fall behind or don't evolve, you lose. Nobody knows for sure, but my guess is that the 'TV license' has had it's day, the BBC will exist as one of many content providers from around the world that charge to view their content. They need to position themselves as a truly impartial, investigative news provider and the producer of world-class entertainment programmes. They can and hopefully, they will. We'll see.
The role of a 'state broadcaster' is massively diminished in the global market and you have to wonder if they have had their day. If we do move to keep one in the UK, we need to look at an innovative way for it to be funded. Here's some info on how licenses are worked or avoided in other countries. I like the system in Finland where a TV license is called a 'Public Service Broadcast Tax' and is paid as a percentage of earnings. (0.68% of income).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26546570
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