Now there is renewed debate over the future of the BBC, isn’t it time to privatise the corporation by swapping every TV licence for one share in the business?
Amid all the talk of subscriptions and paywalls and the future of BBC radio, nobody seems to ask who it belongs to – the licence-payers.
So, if it is to become a revenue-generating business – rather than relying on the licence fee poll tax – the owners deserve a pay-off.
BBC could easily become commercially viable rival to people like Netflix and Apple TV. It is an extremely valuable entity with (despite recent failings) a global reputation, some very successful programmes and a valuable back-catalogue. It could become a major player in the media industry.
It would probably attract interest from a range of media businesses which would have to acquire shares in the BBC. Those shares belong to every licence holder – one licence equals one share.
This windfall to licence-payers would leave us free either to hold onto our shares or sell them at the prevailing market rate as viewers would be required to subscribe and/or endure advertisements if they wanted to use BBC services.
We no longer need a State broadcaster. But if the BBC entered the commercial world, it should thrive. Privatisation would be a new era for the BBC, not some sort of punishment (though no doubt that's how it would be portrayed in some quarters). And by giving every licence-holder one share, it would ensure every viewer had a vested interest in the success of the corporation in its new guise.
Tell Sid.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz94q0v4kq2o
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