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BBC Graham Norton Royal Charter

BBC’s ‘deprivation’ experiment revealed by Graham Norton

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

July 19, 2015 | 2 min read

The BBC conducted a ‘deprivation’ experiment with a handful of users to highlight how much they get in return for the licence fee, revealed one the corporation’s stars Graham Norton.

The test saw users cut off from the BBC’s TV, radio, and online content for two weeks. At the end of the period, claimed Norton, all were happy to pay the licence fee.

“They got a mixture of people – those who were happy paying the licence fee, those who didn’t want to pay it, those who thought it was too high,” he told the Telegraph, explaining it was an idea he had given to BBC director general Tony Hall.

“And they took their services away for two weeks. Just two weeks. No [BBC] internet, no radio, no TV. And at the end of it, everyone was happy to pay for the licence fee.”

He added that the BBC should now take it further, put “£24 into everyone’s bank account” and “switch off the BBC for two months,”

“People would shit themselves,” he said.

It comes after the government outlined the key topics for debate for the Royal Charter review, which governs the BBC. Among the key issues is the licence fee as well as cutting the volume of services it offers.

In the wake of the Green Paper, research emerged which suggested 60 per cent of people would be open to advertising on the BBC if it meant the licence fee was axed.

The BBC is expected to publish the full results of the trial in the coming weeks.

BBC Graham Norton Royal Charter

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