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BBC NEWS ONLINE
| UK POLITICS :: Wednesday 5 June 2002 0526 GMT 0626 UK
Jowell 'rejects' BBC funding shake-up
The BBC will continue to be funded by the television licence fee for the next 15 years, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has signalled.
Ms Jowell said the prospect of funding the corporation without the licence fee lied "somewhere between the improbable and the impossible".
In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper she appeared to rule out a radical overhaul in the BBC's funding.
Her comments sparked fury from shadow culture secretary, Tim Yeo, who branded her comments "absolutely astonishing".
The BBC is overwhelmingly funded by the £2.3bn a year it receives from TV households paying a £109 licence fee.
This is secure until 2006 when the corporation's current charter expires.
The government has indicated that between 2004 and end of the current charter it will consider alternative funding.
Options could include privatisation, subscription charges for viewers or turning the BBC into a mutual society.
But Ms Jowell's comments indicate the government will not pursue these, favouring the renewal of the charter for a further 10 years.
Ms Jowell told the newspaper she is proud of the BBC as a trusted broadcaster and the role it played in the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
Opposition critical
"When I say that this is a no holds barred charter renewal, it's a renewal not a deconstruction [of the BBC]," she said.
"The prospect of the UK without the BBC funded by the licence fee is anywhere between improbable to impossible because the BBC is one of the most loved and trusted UK institutions."
But Ms Jowell said she did not want to predict the outcome of a study which would involve widespread consultation with media exectutives.
Her comments infuriated the opposition.
Mr Yeo said they made a mockery of the impending review of the charter.
"In the 10 years since the last charter renewal the whole television and broadcasting sector has changed radically," he told the newspaper.
"To simply dismiss the alternative possibilities before the debate has taken place not only shows a closed mind but may also work against the interests of viewers and broadcasters."
Comments?
And can we please try not to turn this into the usual 'abolish the licence fee', 'tear up the BBC Royal Charter', 'get rid of the BBC' type debates that usually culminate from such news headlines...
http://www.oneworld.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bbcldn.jpg
Jowell 'rejects' BBC funding shake-up
The BBC will continue to be funded by the television licence fee for the next 15 years, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has signalled.
Ms Jowell said the prospect of funding the corporation without the licence fee lied "somewhere between the improbable and the impossible".
In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper she appeared to rule out a radical overhaul in the BBC's funding.
Her comments sparked fury from shadow culture secretary, Tim Yeo, who branded her comments "absolutely astonishing".
The BBC is overwhelmingly funded by the £2.3bn a year it receives from TV households paying a £109 licence fee.
This is secure until 2006 when the corporation's current charter expires.
The government has indicated that between 2004 and end of the current charter it will consider alternative funding.
Options could include privatisation, subscription charges for viewers or turning the BBC into a mutual society.
But Ms Jowell's comments indicate the government will not pursue these, favouring the renewal of the charter for a further 10 years.
Ms Jowell told the newspaper she is proud of the BBC as a trusted broadcaster and the role it played in the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
Opposition critical
"When I say that this is a no holds barred charter renewal, it's a renewal not a deconstruction [of the BBC]," she said.
"The prospect of the UK without the BBC funded by the licence fee is anywhere between improbable to impossible because the BBC is one of the most loved and trusted UK institutions."
But Ms Jowell said she did not want to predict the outcome of a study which would involve widespread consultation with media exectutives.
Her comments infuriated the opposition.
Mr Yeo said they made a mockery of the impending review of the charter.
"In the 10 years since the last charter renewal the whole television and broadcasting sector has changed radically," he told the newspaper.
"To simply dismiss the alternative possibilities before the debate has taken place not only shows a closed mind but may also work against the interests of viewers and broadcasters."
Comments?
And can we please try not to turn this into the usual 'abolish the licence fee', 'tear up the BBC Royal Charter', 'get rid of the BBC' type debates that usually culminate from such news headlines...
http://www.oneworld.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bbcldn.jpg