Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
Why is it 'nonsense'? Subscriptions are a much better way of funding the BBC than the licence fee. At least people will be able to choose whether or not to pay for the service.
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It's nonsense because you have the examples of ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, which prove to you that the most effective way to fund a mass-audience channel is via advertising (plus other commercial including foreign sales and DVDs).
Leaving aside its status as a public service broadcaster, which makes it illegal to operate as a subscription service, the BBC is for the most part a mass-market service provider. The mass market in UK TV is served by ad-funded, free-to-air channels, not subscription services.
If the BBC is denied the licence fee, or any similar compulsory funding model, then it will operate its channels free-to-air, supported by advertising, exactly the same way as all the other public service broadcasters in the UK.