Our tone deaf Auntie

Proms row is open goal for BBC enemies

YOU know what the most popular brand is in the country according to Yougov?

I’ll give you a minute. Have a think of all those flagship UK brands, the things that we can all be proud of – that make the country great.

Marks & Spencer. Jaguar. Leeds United Football Club.

Nope. None of them. It’s Maltesers. Yep, I know. Maltesers.

According to a Yougov thing I was reading, those crunchy nuisances that have ruined many a cinema trip are our favourite brand. But there was a more shocking revelation in the chart.

Where do you think the BBC comes? That beloved institution, part of the fabric that holds the UK together. Where do you reckon it ranks?

Messing

I’ll tell you where: 178th. That makes it less popular than Tesco, Freeview and Domestos. Even Curly Wurlys score higher and they were always the disappointment in the selection box.

It’s a surprising position for the BBC. They have always been the nation’s beloved Auntie. But lately that’s begun to slip away.

This week’s Last Night of the Proms debacle being a case in point.

The Proms is one of those things they inexplicably broadcast like we’re supposed to be interested in and enjoy. Things like the Great North Run, Trooping the Colour, or Miranda.

So this row over singing Land of Hope and Glory and d Rule, Britannia! struck me as s an odd fight for them to pick. k.

I’ve never known anyone take offence at it. And a survey said only five per cent of us think they have made the right choice over the Proms.

What should be worrying the BBC more is that in the same survey less than half of those questioned said they thin think the BBC offers good valu value for money.

Pe People are losing patience with the odd decisions they are m making lately. Attempting to sc scrap the TV licence for ove over 75s backfired massively,

for example, and will be a row that doesn’t disappear. Another worrying change is the future of the news on the BBC.

They are making noises about changing to one bulletin a day, which is dangerous as their news programmes are well- watched and well- trusted compared with their online offerings.

But they chase ratings. Their head of news said: “You get these big peaks, the big stories like the Bataclan and London Bridge attacks, then the audience falls off quite rapidly.”

Yes. That’s how news works. Chasing numbers is not going to do anyone any good long-term. This course will only lead to further examination of the BBC by a government that already keenly dislikes them. They are in for a tough future unless they refocus on what they are best at and stop these sideshows like messing with the news and the Proms.

Lord Lloyd-webber wrote to the Times this week suggesting a solution – getting Tim Rice to rewrite the lyrics to Land of Hope and Glory.

I think all of us, regardless of class, race, religion can unite on this and say no. This is unacceptable. Enough is enough. All Ears Matter.