Jeremy Paxman concedes BBC license fee is unsustainable over the longer term
Combative former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman has turned his attention from disembowelling politicians to casting doubt on the future of the BBC license fee.
When asked whether the £145.50 per annum fee should be scrapped during a question and answer session at the Royal television Society Paxman remarked: “I’m a journalist, not a clairvoyant. I think you should ask yourself, would the world be a better place without the BBC?”
Defending the broadcaster Paxman called on penny pinching viewers to cough up their dues to fund public service output, warning that there was no alternative funding model in place despite the license fee becoming ‘harder to justify’ in the digital age.
It follows news that 1,000 people a day claim they no longer have a television, although a license fee payment is still required if viewing live television on any device not just a dedicated TV set.
The license fee wasn’t the only touchstone issue for Paxman during the event with the veteran presenter also declaring that he believed that the Union between Scotland and England was ‘over’ and criticism of ‘idiots’ believing opinion polls.