David Dimbleby, a top broadcaster says that the BBC has lost ‘a little’ in its coverage of immigration topics. He also suggested today linking the TV levy to the council tax as part of the ongoing license fee dispute.
Former Question Time host, now 83, claimed that national broadcaster was becoming less popular the farther north they go and it needed to do more in order to be in “lockstep” with Britain’s public opinion.
The highly-respected journalist was asked by a reporter if there are any issues that the BBC has missed the public’s attention. He replied, “Immigration for example.”
“Over time, the BBC was not strong at looking into the reasons why some people in Britain were concerned about the size of the immigration problem.”
Interview with Broadcasting Corporation on the subject On BBC Radio 4’s World at One, Mr Dimbleby discussed his views on the licensing fee.
BBC funding been a hot topic of debate in recent days following the announcement that it would be frozen at £159 over the next two years, after which it will rise in line with inflation for the following four years.
Nadine Dorries from Culture is said to have also stated that BBC’s funding review would be the last. This suggests there may be another funding model in place for BBC after 2028.
He also expressed his opinion on the fee and described the flat rate at the moment as inexcusable.
But he urged ministers to keep the current publicly funded system, instead of switching to a Netflix-like subscription fee.
David Dimbleby (pictured), a prominent broadcaster, says the BBC has diverged ‘a bit” from its reporting on topics like immigration. Today, Dimbleby jumped into ongoing licensure fee controversy by proposing that the TV tax be tied to council taxes.
Nadine Dorries from Culture, reported that she said the BBC funding review would be the last. This suggests there may be another funding model in place after 2028.
Mister Dimbleby expressed his opinion on the flat fee. However, he asked ministers to preserve the BBC’s public-funded system (pictured at Library image), rather than switching to a Netflix subscription.
He stated that he believes in the licence fee. However, he also said that it is impossible to have broadcasting public service without having paid for it via the public purse.
‘But what I do think is the BBC should acknowledge that £159 paid by the poorest as well the richest is just unfair, it’s inequitable.
‘And there’s a simple way in which the BBC can get on the front foot, which is by suggesting the licence fee figure, the gross figure of £159, should not be paid flat rate by everybody but the richest should pay more and the poorest less.
“The simplest way to do it is to add an element of your licence fee to the council tax bracket.”
He also said: “Why should I earn the same amount as the least fortunate?” This is just unfair.
Dimbleby said that the BBC should do more to stay in “lockstep” with public opinion. He also stated that it had strays a little on immigration issues.
He stated that he believed Director General Tim Davie acknowledged the fact that the BBC’s favorability decreases as one moves further north in the UK.
“And that must have a purpose, which is something we need to investigate. I don’t know if it is the BBC agenda used for news coverage or broadcasting. But, there could be tweaks.
“But it is important that you keep in step with public opinion.
He was asked whether the BBC had wandered off the track and he answered: “A bit yes. I do. I do not know if the country has gone off the BBC’s track.
A letter that Mr Dimbleby had written to The Times was published in the Friday edition.
He stated that those who are in Band A would be the highest-paid for a television set, while those in Band D would have to pay less.
“In this manner, the BBC’s revenues would be preserved but the burden of payment would fall on the public more evenly and there would be no objection to the licensing system.
The corporation’s director general commented on funding options after the announcement by the government about the license fee.
Tim Davie said earlier on BBC Radio 4’s Today that once you attempt to service a subscription base, and then a commercial agenda (and, believe me, it has been a long time), suddenly things become profitable and you can return to an audience.
When asked if he agreed with the discussion that the license fee was ‘over’, the answer was: “Do we want an universal public service media organization at the core of our creative industry, which has served me incredibly well?” We must support a public-backed, not fully commercialized BBC if that is what we desire.
After the news broke, several well-known personalities including Richard Bacon (TV presenter), comedian David Baddiel (comedian) and Dan Walker (BBC Breakfast host) spoke out to defend BBC’s licence fee.
The comments from Mr Dimbleby come as Mr Davie is understood to have warned staff about job cuts after revealing the licence fee freeze will result in a £285million gap in funding.
Reports say that Mr Davie, 54 years old, told staff members that the BBC would need to change its operating structure in order to settle the licensing fee.
In an internal video conference, Mr Davie told staff that the headcount at the organisation would ‘probably’ get ‘slightly smaller, according to The Times.
He said: ‘I’m going to be blunt — we’d rather have slightly less people here, but properly funded and in the right place.’
Tim Davie (pictured) reportedly told employees the BBC licence fee settlement, which will see the fee frozen at £159 for two years, would require the BBC to rethink its operational structure
Insiders at BBC believe that he meant his remarks to warn of redundancies. Staff are reported to be upset, frustrated, and depressed.
According to reports, Mr Davie stated that employees should look out for more information in April when the new financial year starts and the settlement of the license fee is made.
It comes after Mr Davie refused to rule out scrapping BBC Radio Four and warned ‘everything’s on the agenda’ after revealing the licence fee freeze will result in a £285million gap in funding for the corporation.
He said the income from the fee by 2027 will be about £4.2billion based on the corporation’s assumptions around inflation and admitted that the settlement ‘will affect our frontline output, there’s no doubt about that’.
Mr Davie was asked whether BBC Four would survive, and said: ‘I’m not going to make specific recommendations now, we are going to take stock, we’ve got the settlement – that gives us certainty now.
“We’ll make good decisions. All we have to do is get through this year. It’s prudent to plan for our finances.
Nadine Dorries from Culture, (pictured) has confirmed that the licensing fee was to be kept frozen until 2024. It will then rise with inflation in the four following years.
When Mr Davie was interviewed by Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4, he said, “I believe everything is on the agenda.”
He answered “Absolutely” when asked whether channels might disappear.
Mr Davie added: ‘People, clearly and rightly, are worried about what the £285million cut in terms of two years flat brings, but also, as an organisation, we need to reshape ourselves for a digital age. Media market changes are extremely rapid.
Davie claimed that while the corporation feels it is being listened to, given that the licensing fee was set up by politicians, the corporation is ‘in the political swirl.’ He also expressed disappointment over the freeze and said that ‘we would love to have seen inflation rise during the period.
He told the Today programme: ‘Our estimate is, and just to set this clearly for everyone, by the year 2027, the licence fee income will be about £4.2billion based on our assumptions around inflation.
“Guessing games about inflation are clearly difficult. We estimate our settlement gives a £285million gap, but at the end of the period.’
As the BBC’s ‘utterly focussed on ensuring people get the best value for their licence fee,’ he said that the BBC had made a’very important progress’ in terms of cutting costs.
Today, Mr Davie stated that there was no question about the fact that we first seek out those reductions which don’t adversely affect our production. This being said, there are now two reasons why I believe we were disappointed by this settlement.
The BBC has endured decades of low-inflation funding demands, which has resulted in… being lean. Our support staff is lean, as we have a team who comes from a business background.
“I think that we can be assessed using any method and you will reach a point where you cannot make cut, which I believe is the case. However, this will have an impact on our frontline production, there’s no doubt.
Yesterday, Ms Dorries spoke to MPs and said that the BBC needed to address issues of impartiality and group thinking. She also stated it was time to ask the really difficult questions regarding the BBC’s long-term funding model.
Although she stated that it was time to “discuss, debate and fund new methods” for the BBC, she did not provide details about the Government’s preference.
Warning of ‘inevitable’ cuts to programmes as a result of the licence fee freeze, Mr Davie said today: ‘Inevitably, if you don’t have £285million, you will get less services and less programmes. I still think the BBC can offer extraordinary value for the £13 a month. It’s possible.
According to him, the organization is now in a good place’ after an ‘excellent Christmas’. He also said that iPlayer has been a ‘brilliant business for the BBC’ in terms of number.
“We are not going to just put aspic around linear services, or keep doing the exact same thing. “So we have to reshape our business,” he said.
Davie stated whether or not he believes the BBC should offer a subscription service.
The broadcaster could be transformed into a business operation but it would not perform the same way as it is today.
Radio 4’s Mr Davie stated that the UK has built an amazing creative industry and that the broadcaster is respected around the globe.
“That’s because it serves all British citizens… The principle of universality here is unequivocal.”
He stated that the content of publicly funded broadcasters would be vastly different if they were mainly subscription-based, rather than entirely subscription-based.
An internal video conference was held by Mr Davie, who told employees that headcount would “probably” be’slightly lower, as per The Times. File photo from BBC logo
According to Mr Davie, “Once you try to service a subscription base or a commercial agenda (and, believe me, that’s what I have done), it’s a totally different scenario. You suddenly do things to make profits and return to a particular audience.
When asked if he agreed with the discussion that the license fee was ‘over’, the answer was: “Do we want an universal public service media organization at the core of our creative industry, which has served me incredibly well?” We must support a public-backed, not fully commercialized BBC if that is what we desire.
Davie claimed that the BBC’s funding was still under discussion between bosses when the Government announced its freeze.
Radio 4’s He said: “We were in final knockings. To be fair, I think that we had a long and difficult process during which we presented our case for investment in BBC.
The Speaker said that although it wasn’t an expedited process by any means, the time it took was still quite interesting. Now we know what the settlement will be.
The broadcaster understood the financial pressures that household incomes face as the Government’s reason for freezing the money, but it was still disappointed by the news.
He said, “We are disappointed.” “We would like to see inflation increase throughout this period. Four out of six years have passed, so we can go on. It is extremely important for us to be certain of our income for at least six years.
It was revealed that the licence fee plans will be in effect as of April 1, 2022. Later this year, the Government would’start to look at the overall governance of the BBC’ during the mid-term review.
According to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, it will be looking to the future. Given the changes in broadcasting due to streaming and video-on-demand, the Government will “separately examine whether or not the BBC licence fee will continue to provide a sustainable funding source”.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) is said to have hit out at the speed of the announcement about the £159 annual levy, which was revealed in the Mail on Sunday
But Rishi Sunak and other senior ministers are leading a revolt over the licence fee plans, despite Boris Johnson throwing his weight behind the move.
The Chancellor is said to have hit out at the speed of the announcement about the £159 annual levy, which was revealed in the Mail on Sunday.
According to the FT, he is also unhappy with Nadine Dorries, Culture Secretary. He was not consulted with ministers prior to discussing a financial issue.
Ms. Dorries posted on Saturday that the fee settlement up to 2027 was ‘the last.’
In a Monday announcement to the Commons, she said that the existing settlement would be reviewed.
The Sun today said that Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey also voiced her unhappiness at Cabinet yesterday over the way the announcement – which has pensions implications – was handled.
The move was part of Operation Red Meat, a series of right-wing populist actions that were announced to assist the Prime Minister in dealing with widespread anger about Partygate.
Johnson is enthusiastically supporting the abolition of the licensure fee prior to the end of this decade.
The Sun reported he told Cabinet: ‘we can’t expect people to keep paying a licence fee just because they own a TV.’