It is and it isn't. It's regressive that we all pay the same. It isn't because it is still a choice whether you choose to watch TV or not.
I'd happily have it funded by tax in theory. However, only if it was guaranteed somehow but knowing Tories would gut it straight away means I would never support this. Other parties might choose to reduce funding to serve political needs.
We also need to think how much we get for the price really. It pays for decent news coverage (especially internationally), Welsh language shows, weather, radio stations (with a lot of support to all types of music/ musicians, especially non mainstream and small artists), children's education (tv channels and bitesize), food recipes (they have a lot of healthy newsletters). The news is contentious with some people but its only a small part of it all. They have also pushed creative, technological and social boundaries.
The BBC is the UK's NASA!!! We should be proud of it, push to keep it going and as with everything, push to improve it to serve us as people.
I used bitesize just the other week to remind me of multiplying fractions as applying to do a degree as a mature student. It was such good content for free and there was much more on so many topics.
They have a lot of TV shows that private producers like netflix would never make. They cater for making money for shareholders only. How many good tv shows do they cancel because not profitable anymore? How many shows for ethnic minorities or small parts of the country do they make?
We should also support the ITV and Channel 4. They are differently operated to how a private company would be even without fees but do so much less than the BBC because they don't get fees so is not a real alternative option. They challenge the BBC and produce a wider mix of content. I never watch ITV tbh but appreciate people must do.
Let's take away any political influence (e.g. choosing the chair and board), make sure its accountable to the UK public by ensuring its independence from the current government so it can actually challenge them, and make sure its following aims like increase access to culture of all types, support British creators, support/represent all parts of the community, help teach us and our kids, give us information how/ when we need it and make us proud!
Wow, this was supposed to be one or two lines but I got carried away!
TL:DR: the BBC does so much more than we often think about (TV, radio, news, weather, children's shows, Bitesize, recipes etc). Let's make it properly independent from govt and help it carry on supporting the British people in the many ways it already does so.
I am the child of immigrants from India who came a long time ago. I was born and raised here, and absolutely abhor and cannot understand how they can do this, so have been thinking about this a lot.
I think one of the factors is that often, it was the richest or highest castes from India and other countries that were able to afford to move here when it was legal and you could just jump on a boat. To buy the ticket was probably enough to factor most people out. They were therefore typically more Conservative in their views beforehand being on top of society that means you probably have a higher degree of that mentality of superiority due to genes/upbringing/social class similar to the upper classes here, so felt very at home with this British class system. I've heard some immigrant people make comments about the poorer in their societies being less smart, less willing to work, gaming the welfare systems etc, which sounds familiar right?
My parents, as an example of some immigrants, were suddenly at the bottom of this society and knew that it wasn't because of their genes or intelligence. My dad went to university in India before moving but it was not recognised here so he worked in factory jobs most of his life. He is Song and had a turban but he had to cut it off to find work as they wouldn't hire him otherwise. My mum moved before her teenage years and is one of the most intelligent women I know but didn't do well in school because of the language barrier, racism (she was forced to go to school miles away from her sisters because there was a policy to divide ethnic groups between schools to not create non white majorities) and low expectations (University was never considered by her working class school or her parents as they could not understand the benefits over earning as soon as possible). It challenged their thinking on their views and made them more left wing. My parents were 100% working class in the British class system and worked their life to give my and my siblings an education to try to "move up" the system.
Some immigrants came over and did well straight away without much issue, so did not have any challenge to their existing views and fit quite nicely into the upper classes in British society. The British Upper class were welcoming as they matched values, had much experience together given lots of british upper classes lived in or experienced India during the Raj. These Indians could speak the "queens English" etc etc. I have a school friend whose grandfather started a clothes business and was very successful, and very early on after moving. He was brought up very wealthy, was taught it was because they were very smart and worked hard, with no mention of the minimum wage employees they used from the immigrant population to make that money, and is therefore extremely Conservative in his views.
Nowadays, there is not really a legal and safe path to the UK so the "upper class" foreigners are going elsewhere. In reality, we are now getting people so desperate to escape whatever horrors they had and have nothing to give up so they are willing to risk their lives and/or the people smugglers are taking advantage of these vulnerable people by offering passage for loans they will struggle to pay off. In the minds of Sunak and Suella, they are lesser people so we should keep them out.
It seems to me like the experience of black, other Asian or African immigrants is very different to this as they were always seen as "lesser". There are many more Tories of Indian origin than other groups. I think the above goes some way to explain it