BOOK
In Focus: The Case for Privatising the BBC
Philip Booth | Ryan Bourne | Tim Congdon | Stephen Davies | Cento Veljanovski
(2016)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
The BBC holds a special place in the world of broadcasting. It derives its funding from a compulsory levy on people who may not even use the service. The protection it receives is justified on the grounds that it contributes to national welfare because of its role in ‘public service broadcasting’. The authors of this book argue that the BBC’s funding model is becoming untenable as technology changes. Furthermore, technology has also undermined the justification for government support for public service broadcasting. There is also major concern about bias at the BBC. However, the book concludes that bias is not confined to the BBC, but is common to all media providers. The problem is not bias as such, but the link between the BBC and the government, together with the compulsory funding model which does not allow people to not fund content of which they disapprove. Various options for reform are presented, concluding with a proposal for fullblown privatisation. It is concluded that this is the only way to realise the potential of an organisation that should be international in scope and which, under the current funding model, will become marginalised by media players operating worldwide across a range of platforms. This book is essential reading for anybody involved in public policy or the economics of broadcasting.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| _GoBack | x | ||
| 16 | xiii | ||
| a2 | 30 | ||
| n3 | 30 | ||
| n13 | 36 | ||
| n5 | 36 | ||
| n6 | 36 | ||
| The authors | ix | ||
| Foreword | xi | ||
| Acknowledgement | xiv | ||
| Summary | xv | ||
| Tables, figures and boxes | xviii | ||
| 1\tIntroduction: broadcasting in the twenty-first century | 1 | ||
| Philip Booth and Stephen Davies | 1 | ||
| The origins of the licence fee | 1 | ||
| The evolution to a hypothecated television tax | 3 | ||
| The collapse of the justification for licence fee funding | 4 | ||
| Television broadcasts are not a public good | 6 | ||
| The licence fee debate should be dead – at least among economists | 8 | ||
| What might replace the licence fee model of funding the BBC? | 8 | ||
| Public service broadcasting | 10 | ||
| Bias and the BBC | 12 | ||
| Privatising the BBC | 16 | ||
| Conclusion | 19 | ||
| References | 21 | ||
| 2\tPublic service broadcasting: ownership, funding and provision | 23 | ||
| Cento Veljanovski | 23 | ||
| Background | 24 | ||
| The structure of public service broadcasting | 26 | ||
| What was and is public service broadcasting? | 30 | ||
| Where does the PSB concept stand today? | 36 | ||
| Market failure | 38 | ||
| Can a case be for public service broadcasting? | 48 | ||
| Funding of PSB | 49 | ||
| Structural reforms | 57 | ||
| Conclusion | 61 | ||
| References | 62 | ||
| 3\tThe problem of bias in the BBC | 67 | ||
| Ryan Bourne | 67 | ||
| Introduction | 67 | ||
| Does bias matter? | 69 | ||
| Absolute or relative bias? | 71 | ||
| Bias by omission | 72 | ||
| Bias by selection | 78 | ||
| Bias by presentation | 87 | ||
| Conclusion | 96 | ||
| References | 98 | ||
| 4\tWhy is the BBC biased? | 100 | ||
| Stephen Davies | 100 | ||
| Is the BBC biased to the left? | 100 | ||
| Institutional bias and the BBC | 101 | ||
| Shared values of BBC staff | 103 | ||
| The BBC, ‘conventional wisdom’ and the problem of nuanced views | 108 | ||
| Conclusion | 110 | ||
| References | 112 | ||
| 5\tPrivatising the BBC | 114 | ||
| Tim Congdon | 114 | ||
| Setting the scene | 114 | ||
| The case for ending the licence fee | 117 | ||
| The BBC in the digital era | 126 | ||
| Common defences of state funding of broadcasting | 128 | ||
| Final remarks on the licence fee | 132 | ||
| The case for the privatisation of the BBC | 133 | ||
| A possible alternative approach: a smaller BBC? | 140 | ||
| References | 144 | ||
| About the IEA | 146 | ||
| Table 1\tPSB channels and channels operated by public service broadcasters | 27 | ||
| Table 2\tThink-tank citations by politicians and the BBC News website | 81 | ||
| Table 3\tThink-tank mentions and health warnings on the BBC website in the previous Parliament | 92 | ||
| Table 4\tUK television industry metrics | 122 | ||
| Figure 1\tViewer shares by channel (aged 4+), 1988–2014 | 29 | ||
| Figure 2\tPSB and portfolio share of TV viewing, all individuals, by channel: 2004–14 | 31 | ||
| Figure 3\tHow PSB channels are delivered to viewers, 2014 | 40 | ||
| Figure 4\tPublic service broadcasting by non-public-service broadcasters | 49 | ||
| Figure 5\tTotal TV revenues by source, 2009–14 | 56 | ||
| Figure 6\tNumber of citations by Labour politicians as a proportion of citations by Labour and Conservative politicians | 80 | ||
| Figure 7\tEU interview comparisons | 97 | ||
| Figure 8\tThe financing of British television today (£ billion revenues) | 121 | ||
| Figure 9\tIs the BBC already an underdog? | 123 | ||
| Figure 10\tGlobal TV industry revenues by source (£ billion) | 143 | ||
| Box 1\tCompetition policy and the BBC | 50 |