Ex-BBC boss calls the licence fee ‘dumb’

THE BBC’s battle to keep the licence

suffered a blow after former director-general Greg Dyke branded it a ‘dumb’ anachronism.

Adding his voice to those calling for it to be scrapped, Mr Dyke, 72, said: ‘The thing with the licence fee is: no one would come up with it as an idea today, would they?

‘The idea that you have a compulsory tax on the TV set sitting in the corner is dumb.’

Mr Dyke, who served as the corporation’s chief for four years until 2004, told the Financial Times that the BBC’s funding model was ‘an anachronism’.

Other former BBC bosses believe the corporation should drastically slim down in order to justify the fee, which has existed since 1927 and now costs £154.50 a year.

Mark Thompson, who stepped down as the corporation’s directorgeneral in 2012, said the BBC needed to recapture viewers who preferred subscription services such as Netflix.

Mr Thompson added: ‘If that means prioritising streaming and mobile services and making painful choices about existing linear [traditional] TV and radio, so be it.

‘The BBC has placed bold bets on the future before. In the interests of the audiences it serves, it needs to take the radical path again.’

And Lord Grade, chairman of the BBC from 2004 to 2006, said the BBC needed to take ‘drastic’ action to focus its activities.

Gavyn Davies, his predecessor as chairman, also questioned whether the licence fee had a future, saying: ‘The BBC is a heck of an asset for us and the world. We really shouldn’t give that up. Whether the licence fee is the best and only way to provide the resources to achieve that, I don’t know.’

Ofcom recently warned that the BBC was in danger of ‘losing a generation’ to streaming services, as well as other media.

Last week, the current directorgeneral Lord Hall admitted it was ‘conceivable’ that 90-year-olds could end up in court for non-payment of the licence fee.

He was quizzed by MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

‘No one would come up with it as an idea today’

Select Committee as the broadcaster faces a growing public disquiet over its funding.

Lord Hall was asked if he ‘was really prepared to take 80- or 90year-olds to court’ for non-payment.

‘We have got a special team to make sure our communications with the over-75s is sensitive and we’ll do absolutely everything we can to make sure they understand what they need to do,’ he said.

‘I don’t want to see people going to court, of course I don’t. It’s conceivable but we don’t want that. We absolutely don’t want to get there.’