MUMBAI: The BBC has announced the results of a survey Measuring the Value of the BBC. .It claims to have received overwhelming public support in the UK for the licence fee structure.
81 per cent of the UK population agree that the BBC is worth ?121 per year. Over half the respondents value the BBC at twice the current licence fee. The BBC further stated that its digital services are highly valued by audiences in both analogue and digital homes
News, soaps and home-grown comedy and drama are considered the most important programming genres. The study also reveals the effect of introducing a subscription-funded model for the BBC. If the BBC was to charge a ?13 fee per month, only 14.8 million households would subscribe, leaving 9.7 million without access to the BBC and its services.
This would not only result in the BBC losing over ?500m in revenue with the resultant loss in the quality of the services it provides, but the BBC would not be able to fulfil its core citizenship roles, including support for democracy, education, culture and social cohesion.
In non-digital homes, respondents placed particular importance on News 24 channel.