Campaigners call for Channel 4 and BBC overhaul to save taxpayers’ cash
Ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group have called for the chancellor to sell Channel 4 and the majority of the BBC. In research released today, the group found that a potential sale of BBC shares could generate up to £5 billion for the government, enough to increase the tax-free personal allowance by £300.
As Channel 4’s licence and the BBC’s mid-term reviews approach amid declining viewership and satisfaction rates, the research proposes the sale of Channel 4 and a significantly reduced BBC focused solely on public service output as a viable solution to taxpayer dissatisfaction with the broadcasters.
The paper calls for the licence fee to be scrapped and the BBC to be cut down to one television channel, radio station and online service. The reduced BBC would be funded by a small government grant and only show content in the ‘public interest’, such as the current affairs and cultural programming it was known for when founded.
With the licence fee now being imposed on the over-75s, and covid hitting hard-pressed taxpayers, the public ownership of two broadcasters seems unnecessary. The campaign group is calling on the government to modernise taxpayers’ relationship with the broadcasters, allowing them to compete in the age of streaming while simultaneously providing government revenues to cut taxes.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “In the age of streaming, it’s ridiculous that we have two publicly-owned broadcasters. The chancellor should use the upcoming budget to unshackle these media giants from the taxpayer and let them stand on their own two feet.”
