The license fee is a mandatory fee for anyone in the UK with a television set, and it's been going on for decades. Instead of fund drives, the authorities have developed all kinds of technologies for
detecting if a given household has a telly and they cross reference that to make sure they're not freeloaders.
It's amazing to me, in the age of Sky TV and cable and dishes and Internet that this is still going on. But they must be doing something right. Just off the top of my head, look at what they've produced over the last few decades -- and this isn't even mentioning the news:
Doctor Who
Monty Python
Upstairs Downstairs
Red Dwarf
As Time Goes By
French and Saunders
The Vicar of Dibley
Coupling
... I could keep going for pages ...
Yet, today, when I've been lucky enough to get to somewhere carrying BBC America (my local cable company doesn't carry it and I can't get the dish) it's all been reality shows and games shows -- not my cup of tea.
And don't they get money from BBC America and the exports of all the great shows over here (I'm including the documentaries that they co-produce with the Discovery Channel and PBS)? I guess not enough, not if they want to keep making the amazing documentaries and other expensive programming that rarely makes it across the pond.
2 comments:
Not sure if this is what you are getting at, but as far as I know, BBC America is treated like the madwoman in the attic by the BBC. They have no budget and must rely on their advertising to make money. They have to bid for BBC shows just like any other international channel and that's why all the good stuff like Dr. Who or the nature docs get shown on other channels that can afford their high fees. The result is that, aside from news, all that BBC America can afford are cheap shows about decorating your house etc. Since those are nothing special, the only advertising they can get are for drill bits or stain removers and the like. It's a vicious cycle.
I'd love to get BBC here but it is so liberal now, it's not my cup of tea for news, but for some good dramas, yes.
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