Reckoning at last for arrogant BBC

THE BBC is at last facing its comeuppance, after years of unpunished arrogance, behind what it thought was the impregnable wall of the licence fee. For decades, it has been the playground of Left-wing bohemians forcing their narrow view of the world on viewers and listeners.

A minority clung to old-fashioned notions of impartiality and public service, but they have been pushed aside by a wave of wokeness.

And last week this process reached its peak.

The BBC has long been hostile to any sign of patriotism, and loathed the parts of the Last Night of the Proms which allowed such feelings to be openly expressed. It thought the Covid crisis was a chance to snuff out this last trace of tradition.

But it ran into bigger trouble than it expected, and the damage done will last. This is because it cannot any longer sustain its monopoly power. For as the BBC has become more scornful of the British people, it has also met real competition.

Streaming services such as Netflix, for which millions pay voluntarily, are outperforming it in the world of entertainment. Now it faces not one but two new rivals to its increasingly inadequate and openly biased news and current affairs operation, with its ranting out-of-control presenters and its slanted view of the world.

In these conditions, the licence fee simply cannot endure or be enforced. And without it the BBC is just another broadcaster, fighting for viewers and income. It has brought this on itself.

Maybe there is just time to recover some of its lost status, but it will need to be very quick and very humble if it is to do so.