Would you support the BBC licence fee going up? For the last two years, the annual cost has been frozen at £159, but the corporation could be looking to recoup some savings amid skyrocketing inflation. We took to the streets in a city near you to find out what you think of a proposed 9% rise.
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00:00 The BBC are looking to up the licence fee. Is that something you think is worth it at
00:07 all? No. No. Not really. No. Because we pay for Sky, which is a few pound on the sole.
00:16 I don't think the BBC is worth it. No. To me, I think the BBC has gone now is more Tory
00:26 propaganda. I think it's inevitable. And I actually think the BBC are quite good value
00:32 for money. But it's going to hit the people that can't afford it less, more, you know.
00:39 So pensioners and people like that, you know, that haven't got a lot of income. So that's
00:47 not very good. It should be means tested, maybe. When people like Gary Lineker and Graham
00:53 Norton get an extortionate amount of money and then OAPs can't get a free licence fee
00:57 now, no, it's ridiculous. They don't deserve anything. So what is being proposed? The BBC
01:03 licence fee has been frozen for the last two years at £159. But the corporation wants
01:09 this to rise by 9%, equating to around an extra £15 annually, to an expected £173.30.
01:16 Culture Minister Lucy Fraser said the government is reviewing the planned cost hike as worries
01:22 around further strain on household finances mount. They don't watch terrestrial TV and
01:27 they kind of like, they do the other options. So I think the licence itself is probably
01:33 a dying breed. So I'm not sure that they actually deserve it. I don't use the BBC at all. It's
01:40 become a shameful propaganda mouthpiece. I don't think the content on there is valuable.
01:48 It doesn't resonate with my life or my family's life at all. And something I don't miss is
01:54 not watching TV. I haven't had a licence, I haven't had a TV licence in about 13 years.
02:00 It's disgusting putting everything up, especially just staying the way it's happening now. Everyone's
02:05 struggling with all kinds, food, money, heating, and they want to put the licence fee up. Although
02:12 I do watch the BBC. BBC, brilliant. Where would we be without them? Covid, you know,
02:18 they sorted out the education for all the children. The government couldn't do it, the
02:22 BBC did it. I would like to see more funding for regional BBC. I think it's in the over
02:29 75s to have it free and now they have to pay for it. I think that they shouldn't have to
02:38 pay for it at all and I think I'd rather pay a bit more so that they don't have to pay.
02:42 The news comes as the BBC plan other cost saving measures across its output, with Newsnight
02:47 dropping down to a 30 minute run time and a reduction in TV packaging and an upscaling
02:51 of digital output instead also planned. A spokesperson said the BBC will continue to
02:56 focus on what it does best, working to deliver world class content and providing great value
03:01 for all audiences.
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