If BBC was subscription only...

Yes, 100% I would if it could remain (or go back to being) independent of the government of the day.

For many years the BBC was the envy of the world, and in parts of the world it still is. I have seen news (print and TV) in areas where the is no alternative to the ruler and the dominant religion, and there is just no comparison to what we have, even at its worst.

I'm not sure how it would be financed, as now that there are so many other options, and a lot of people prefer to watch films, sport etc than want to see unbiased news, there would probably not be enough take-up, but I would like to see the BBC able to operate without government subsidy and without any large donations from vested interests.

Yes I’m not sure I would pay. BBC does come up with really good drama at times such as line of duty and killing eve, but I think you could get these on other platforms. There is already britbox which may be the BBC’s attempt to see if people would subscribe, who knows.

depends. i only catch tv occasionally. don't have a licence.
as long as i can have radio, inc bbc, i'm ok.

I think I would but then I enjoy dramas like Line of Duty.
I also like the idea of a state owned broadcaster, they did such good educational programmes for children during the lockdowns which no commercial broadcaster did.
I am not sure that commercial broadcasters would be willing to take risks with some of the unexpected very very popular programmes that the BBC has done.
I am thinking of someone suggesting a programme where the public brought in broken items that meant a lot to them, and other people mended them. Who would have expected The Repair Shop to be such a hit?

I also listen to radio 4, I don't know of any other radio station that can compete with that.
There is also the BBC World service, which is a bit like marketing our country to the rest of the world and it very trusted.

My ideal solution would be to abolish the licence fee and pay for the BBC out of general taxation, no one would then end up in prison for not paying the licence fee, which I think is awful.

I have lately felt like boycotting the BBC.

before i get slammed, i don't have a licence because i don't ever watch any tv than needs a licence at my address.
i know you need a licence to watch any bbc tv, ever;
also if you watch other terrestial tv at the time of broadcast.
you can watch non-bbc tv after it has been broadcast, but i don't.

Good question! We were discussing this just the other day.

We were trying to think what we watch on the Beeb.

Wimbledon.

Pointless ... my guilty pleasure

Eurovision ... another guilty pleasure

And that's about it

So no. I don't think I'd pay for it.

Oh that's a good point about The Repair Shop, Ilovecheese. Used to watch that when it was a day programme and used to say they should get it on evening TV. Which of course they did.

The only real benefit of BBC is lack of adverts.

Never watch BBC.They would have to pay me not me pay the BBC to watch what they see as entertainment.

BBC's Radio 4 alone is worth the licence fee, as is the absence of adverts.

Daisend1, I'm interested to know if you watch any television and if so what.

I think BBC do produce some really good programmes, apart from Eastenders which I can’t stand. I never watch the morning programmes or the main news, only my local version. Think I would give it a go if subscribing came in, which I don’t think will happen, they have too much to lose
This is what I object to, when my 92 year old Aunt has to start paying for her only bit of entertainment
www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34902244

I only seem to watch a tiny percentage of their programmes these days. I honestly don't know if I would pay for it. If it came as part of a TV package I might but cough up eg £10 per month extra ,maybe not. Never thought I'd feel like this.

We watch so little on the BBC these days I wouldn’t pay for it.
I used to consider the BBC news as being above reproach but now it is clearly biased and unreliable or an advert for other BBC programmes.

I agree Esspee. The news is really frustrating in so many ways.

We would. We watch quite a few documentaries on 2 and 4, and the odd drama. I certainly wouldn’t want to be without R4 and the World Service. It was a lifeline for us during many years abroad, and we still use it a lot. Especially me, when I’m sleepless at 3 am.

Artaylar

BBC's Radio 4 alone is worth the licence fee, as is the absence of adverts.

I agree

Although I regret the way the BBC has over the last five years morphed into the Brexit Broadcasting Corporation and the dominance of Tories amongst its political staff has badly dented its reputation for impartiality, I still believe that the BBC is a credit to our country and a great asset.

We do not pay for any subsricption channels and do not intend to but we regard our tv licences fee as giving value for money.

At one time, we Brits had much to be proud of - the BBC, the NHS, free state education, up to and including university, an unarmed police force and a relatively uncorrupt political system.

So many of these have either gone or been badly damaged. I hope we can keep the BBC.

I do watch the news on BBC but very little else, so no I would not pay a subscription, there is an ample variety of material on other channels. If I want to watch a particular film I can pay for it when it suits me.
BBC is going to have to change, it’s poor value.

Yes, definitely we'd pay for BBC. (Radio 4 alone is worth the license fee, IMO.)

No I would not pay to watch BBC, I do watch Eastenders but could leave it if I had to. I did watch and enjoy Line of Duty but again if you could pay for single events/programmes I would prefer to do that and not pay for a TV licence. re no adverts.. many years ago we lived in Germany for a couple of years and one of their TV channel had ALL the adverts at the beginning of the evenings TV, There was half hour of ads interspersed with comic figures, my children called them 'the little men' once these ads finished there were no more for the whole evening. Maybe BBC could do something like this and dispense with the licence.

I think the BBC will have to change. In 50 years this current 30 + generation won’t want to pay for a license just to fund the BBC. My adult children never watch it at all preferring Netflix etc. Apart from some good dramas it does go down the ‘easy’ time filler route by repeating things such as Mrs Brown’s Boys and moving afternoon slot programmes to prime time. Time to change I think !

I would pay if only to make sure the world beating Natural History programmes were safe. The BBC also works closely with the Open University as well as other educational investment in programming. Their investment in the arts and music like the Proms series is fabulous. Without it we would all be the poorer.

I agree with those who are saying the BBC is the envy of many in the world and we would lose something really valuable and unique if it were to disappear, or be reduced in scope by becoming a subscription service like Netflix. It would have to chase ratings in a way it doesn't have to now - so important 'serious' programmes might suffer or disappear, as might the wonderful Radio 3 and even Radio 4. The BBC has made terrible mistakes around the Diana interview and is rightly acknowledging this and taking steps to make sure such a thing cannot happen again - but this awful error should not be the means of sinking the whole BBC. We would be much the poorer as a nation if it loses its status as a public service organisation based on the license fee - and we would lose the priceless value we and others in the world get from the international services. People in far flung places rely on the BBC, as well as those of us who live in the UK. I would certainly subscribe if forced to do so but would far far prefer the BBC to survive and be funded by the licence fee.

Surely it is subscription only? You are free to choose to pay for a licence, or not.

BBC has gone woke and is biased against government -should be neutral would not pay them a penny too many repeats