Report: 'BBC should lose licence fee'

The BBC should lose the television licence fee, which should instead be freed up for use by other broadcasters, a new report has claimed.

According to the Auntie's Dying: Long Live Public Service Broadcasting report, the corporation now makes entertainment programming that fails to meet its public service responsibilities.

Written by Frank Field MP and David Rees, the study suggests that an independent commissioning body should instead decide the appropriate allocation of the licence fee.

Under this model, the BBC and other parties would have to pitch ideas to the organisation in order to access funding on a per-project basis.

Field and Rees would also like to see BBC One and BBC Three put up for sale, alongside Radio 1 and Radio 2.

"The BBC would then return to a more focused and enhanced Reithian conception," the report explained.

"BBC Two and Four, Radio Three and Four and the World Service would gain probably all their funding from public service broadcasting awards.

"The BBC's worldwide operations would similarly be judged as to whether they promoted public service broadcasting and would gain revenue and retain the right to trade thereby under the BBC name.

"All other broadcasters across a range of outlets could bid for public broadcasting money to finance programmes that meet those criteria."

Meanwhile, Griff Rhys Jones has criticised the BBC for having too many middle managers and lacking emphasis on creativity.

Speaking to the Radio Times, he said: "The only way for it to flourish is to give responsibility to the talent who make programmes. There's too much middle management - too many staff officers, not enough NCOs."