Time for BBC to decide if it is a public service or a commerical enterprise

This once-over venerable institution characterised the best in the British way of life.

Sadly this is no longer the case and it is now indistinguishable from the other channels.

The Government should scrap the license fee and make the BBC a subscription service for those prepared to pay.

Why should you have to choose between not watching television or paying for a license even though you never watch the BBC?

It is time the corporation decides if it is a public service or a commercial enterprise.

If the former, it should be happy to provide an information service to the least affluent of our society. If the latter, let it raise capital in the same way as any other commercial enterprise by selling shares and answering to the shareholders for the service it provides.

To put things into perspective, if the BBC were to get rid of a few highly paid presenters it wouldn’t have to charge hard up pensioners to cover the cost of the replacement set for EastEnders, a programme enjoyed by millions.

Scott Andrews