60% of Brits want BBC licence fee scrapped in favour of ad-supported model
Almost a third of Brits have suggested they would be happy to see adverts on the BBC if it meant the abolition of the licence fee.
Nearly 1,500 randomly selected respondents from across the UK were asked in an online TubeMogul survey “what is the best way the BBC should be funded in the future”. The question appeared on their video screens while they were watching online video on various websites.
The majority (61.67 per cent) voted for the removal of the licence fee altogether, with the BBC instead becoming a corporation funded primarily by advertising.
Only 23.82 per cent said the current model – a continued payment of the licence fee for all TV viewers, with no fee payment for online viewers – while 14 per cent said they thought people should pay an additional fee to use online services.
Of those that said they would welcome advertising, 18 per cent said steps would have to be taken to ensure it didn’t have any advantage over private broadcasters. Of those that rejected the idea of ads, 15 per cent worried it would make the BBC less independent and less likely to investigate companies/advertisers that pay them.
Despite the apparent willingness for the BBC to be privatised and the licence fee scrapped, such a proposal has not been raised in the Green Paper published by Culture Secretary John Whittingdale to launch the most comprehensive review of the BBC in the past decade.
Among the key issues up for debate is the licence fee, after director general Tony Hall revealed that volume of people opting out of buying a TV licence to watch content via catch-up and streaming services has left a £150m hole in the expected income this year.
Instead, the review will look to “modernise” the fee and consider reformation, a household levy or subscription fee in the longer term.
Nick Reid, UK managing director of TubeMogul, which conducted the survey, said: “Focus in the media has been largely on the importance of the BBC’s independence. Yet, the British public don’t really care about this issue and increasingly feel that it’s time to cut Auntie Beeb’s purse strings off.”
In ZenithOptimedia’s March 2015 Advertising Expenditure report, television advertising expenditure for 2015 is estimated to reach almost £4 Billion. With the BBC securing almost 50 per cent of all viewership, this means that it has the potential to secure half that amount in potential advertising revenue.
While Reid said it’s impossible to estimate an exact figure regarding what the BBC could make if they opened up their TV stations to advertising, “going by current ratings and viewing trends, guessing that they would take half of spend is a conservative possibility.”
He added: “And this is based on the fact that advertising spend wouldn’t increase. The reality is that it would because the amount of premium inventory would almost double causing advertisers to increase spend and entice new advertisers to TV.”