The BBC licence fee hike adds insult to injury

In these chill winter days it’s good to know that at least one old lady is warmly wrapped up. The announcement that the BBC licence fee will rise in line with inflation is another modest, but comforting, layer of financial insulation wrapped around Auntie’s well-padded frame. 

The new cost will be £159, up by about £1.50; so nothing to get excited about perhaps. But each time the licence fee is raised it focuses attention on the funding privileges that the Corporation enjoys and fuels the debate about whether those privileges should continue.

The BBC, in its defence, makes what at first glance seems a very sound ‘value for money’ argument. The Corporation points out that the licence fee works out at 43p a day, so for something less than three quid a week the audience is offered a massive range of entertainment, news and serious programming across radio, television and the internet. 

Competitor outfits are much more expensive in comparison; it has been calculated that buying piecemeal services matching the BBC package would cost about £450 a year.