BBC: Licensed to thrill?

Following the news that the culture secretary wishes to abolish the BBC license fee, there have been understandable expressions of alarm nationally and internationally. This highly respected public service broadcaster - celebrating its centenary year, may lose its funding as we know it and will have to survive like a commercial station. To date this huge structural change has only been stated as an aim, but if the culture secretary has her way the necessary adjustments will be considered a catastrophic loss by many.

At this point, I must state my own bias: I love ‘the Beeb’. I grew up with Radio 2, BBC1 and 2, moved onto Radio 3 and 4, the utterly brilliant and transformative World Service and, of course, BBC4. The network has come under criticism from time to time - some of which is justified - but I still think the good far outweighs the bad. Many have learned as much from the BBC’s output as from the rest of their education, with ears and eyes opened by the wealth of culture, sport and news on offer. Recent discussion regarding the justification of paying what is in effect a tax for the service has led to resentment from some, and when the output annoys them, they complain. Complaints are important; I too am sometimes irritated when news coverage shows, too much obsequiousness, for example, or too much bias in one direction or another, or even misinformation. I am also occasionally frustrated by music documentaries and the banal and sometimes ill-informed comments made by celebrities. But does that mean the BBC’s existence should be threatened? I say categorically ‘no.’

Probably my favourite BBC medium - radio - has allowed the imagination to thrive, taking me to magical faraway lands with exotic accompaniments. I love the intimacy of it, and have been stimulated by the facts, philosophy and beautiful music. A few years ago, I was listening to Desert Island Discs when the episode guest, British comedian, actor, author, playwright and director Ben Elton, expressed his opinion that the two greatest institutions on these islands were the NHS and the BBC. At the time I was not particularly struck by this statement’s profundity, but recently those thoughts have emerged as being deeply relevant. Look at the contribution made to our lives by all the wonderful BBC orchestras, observe the network’s educational work and fund-raising and notice the bringing together of communities for national events.

It is, of course, legitimate to have a conversation about how the BBC is funded, as times and habits move on. The organisation has to remain relevant, appeal to all age groups and be recognised for its cultural and national significance. I am still firmly in favour of the licence fee but there are already some additional sources of funding which could be exploited much further. The superb music festival that is The Proms, for example, provides a template for how areas of the BBC could increase its finances. Here we have an outstanding international celebration of music which is partially funded through ticket sales, creating three months of content for a very reasonable budget. Should more projects be funded in a similar way? BBC Studios is the merger of the BBC’s commercial production arm and international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. It is involved with the commercial exploitation of content and develops ‘a range of ancillary products like licensed merchandise, social media content and apps, and live events, all designed to extend fans’ enjoyment of these shows.’ I am told, however, that this organisation is still cautious in its revenue gathering and it may be that more barriers could be brought down. Much of this has doubtless already been looked at but it needs to be analysed and discussed with urgency by creative thinkers as well as accountants.

Conscious that the more mature of us have a particular emotional and nostalgic connection with the BBC, we need to be aware that kids watch and listen differently now. But think of all those wonderful musical jewels that have come our way: Young Musician, Arena, Imagine, Top of the Pops… Think of all those fabulous and knowledgeable radio presenters and their archives of music. Think of all those wildly creative plays and novels, poetry and sounds from nature. Of course, I can’t catalogue everything here. The list is so massive that I am overwhelmed by the attempt to do so and would fear missing something wonderful out. But I am hugely and enormously grateful; this depth of resources has accompanied and enriched my whole life, after all - and it would be a crime of ignorance to abandon it.