Viewers believe BBC is ‘bad value for money’
THE BBC is a turn off for the majority of Brits who believe the “right-on” corporation is in a Metropolitan bubble that bears little resemblance to the lives of people outside London.
More than half of people surveyed believe that the taxpayer-funded largest media organisation in the world is now “bad value for money” as the compulsory licence fee rockets.
Media Minister John Whittingdale threw fresh doubt on the future of the licence fee last week, revealing it could be replaced by an optional subscription charge once everyone had access to high-speed broadband.
The latest survey, for the campaign group Defund The BBC, reveals widespread dissatisfaction with the current annual charge, which will rise next month from £157.50 to £159. The BBC employs more than 22,000 staff and pays gold-plated salaries to presenters that dwarf those in the commercial sector.
Radio Two breakfast DJ Zoe Ball receives more than £1.36million while Match of The Day host Gary Lineker pocketed over £1.75million, but has recently agreed to a pay cut of £400,000.
The poll, conducted by Savanta ComRes, found that 51 per cent of British adults think the national broadcaster is bad value.
A third even describe it as “very bad value”, with only one in five respondents saying it is “good value” and just eight per cent giving it a “very good” rating. To make matters worse for the national broadcaster, the survey found that 34 per cent of Britons believe the BBC focuses too much on woke issues. And it reflected badly with people living outside the capital with almost half of Britons (47 per cent) believing it represents the views of those in London more than it reflects opinions elsewhere. Men and older adults were more likely than women and younger people to believe woke issues and Londoners’ views were over-represented.
BBC chiefs have chosen to strip older pensioners of their right to a free licence, but that has led to more than two-thirds of the public insisting non-payment of the fee should no longer be a criminal offence for the over-75s.
Rebecca Ryan, campaign director of Defund The BBC, said the “damning poll” showed how out of touch the BBC was “with the vast majority of people in the UK”.
A BBC spokesman said: “We are committed to serving all parts of the UK with brilliant content our audiences love.”