Why should every owner of a television be compelled to fund the BBC?
sir – I certainly hope that Boris Johnson can resolve the matter of the television licence (report, January 21).
I do not qualify for, want or need a free licence. Currently all I watch is ITV News nightly and two other programmes during the week, both on ITV. I avoid the BBC’S output and cannot record other programmes. Yet by watching ITV live, I am compelled to fund the BBC through my licence fee. Where’s the justice in that? PJ Mills
Dursley, Gloucestershire
sir – The world would not stop turning if the BBC were to be axed.
We would, of course, miss some of its programmes, but we would not much miss its pontificating or its bias.
The arrogant way that, under pressure, it dropped BBC Three, only to resurrect it online, is just one example of its self-importance. Alan Palmer
Kenilworth, Warwickshire sir – The BBC must not lose its current funding. In general terms, the world acknowledges the pre-eminence of the BBC, and viewers in many countries rely on the World Service.
It was a dreadful mistake to cap the licence fee some years ago, thus denying the corporation much-needed cash. It is an institution that we must ensure survives and flourishes. Herbert C Chappell
Woking, Surrey
sir – I wrote to the BBC’S outgoing director-general, Lord Hall, about the loss of the BBC’S teletext service (Letters, January 17). I received a bland reply giving details on how the information is available in digital form. He went on to say that the cash savings would be used in other areas.
I shall miss sitting back in my chair in the mornings with a cup of tea and pressing the red button to find out what has happened in the world. The BBC looks set to become just another channel in future. Dennis Hardman
Wadebridge, Cornwall sir – While travelling in the Far East, I can easily access programmes using my Netflix account on smart televisions or my laptop – but when I log into BBC iplayer, I am asked to confirm that I hold a television licence. I am then informed that the service is not available outside the UK.
I pay for my BBC service just as I pay for my Netflix subscription, but via a different route. Why am I denied the facility to watch it wherever I wish? Dr Bradley Viner
Northwood, Middlesex
sir – Why don’t British owners of televisions pay as they do in France? Here, all house owners pay €139 a year, which is automatically included in their taxe d’habitation or rate charge on their properties. (Exemptions are possible if the householder does not have a radio or television set.)
French people accept it as quite normal and do not protest. Susan Coote
Cornillon, Gard, France