Doctor Who would appear to have it’s future guaranteed, already commissioned until 2020 the show is one of the big money earners for the British Broadcasting Corporation and is still scoring high ratings in the UK with an expanding audience around the globe, particularly in the United States where Series 8 was the highest rated so far. Yet political moves in the UK could potentially see the BBC’s funding structure drastically altered, something that Doctor Who figures, including Steven Moffat, are concerned about.
Following their surprise majority victory in the British General Election this past week, the new Conservative government have appointed license fee critic John Whittingdale as Culture Secretary. Whittingdale, who once described the fee as “worse than a poll tax,” is a longstanding critic of both the BBC and the license fee, the compulsory charge which costs television owners £145.50 per year within the UK. Critics have already suggested the move is an indication of an impending assault on the Beeb and the potential end of the broadcaster as a public body.
Speaking to the BBC earlier today, the new Business Secretary Sajid Javid criticised the headlines and proclaimed Whittingdale as the right person for the job:
“There is a bit of over-excitement in those headlines, [Whittingdale is] someone who is hugely experienced not least because over the last few years he has been head of the select committee that oversaw my old department, he has looked into this issue [of the BBC] many times. He is the right person to take this forward. There is every 10 years a charter review process so the BBC’s charter is looked at afresh. That process is now starting, he will lead that process. It will be driven by evidence, there will be lots of stakeholders in that process but that is the best way to take these type [sic] of decisions.”
The Daily Telegraph however suggests that the move is entirely politically motivated. Writing in their leader this morning, the Conservative backing paper said the new government was “furious” at perceived left-wing bias from the Beeb, adding:
“There are now concerns that the corporation’s coverage of the EU referendum in 2017 could betray a pro-EU bias,”
Also quoting a “senior Tory source” as having told the paper that:
“It’s increasingly clear the BBC is governed by ideology. The way they handled the negotiations over the debates was appalling. There were times during the campaign when the coverage did seem skewed in Labour’s favour.”
What the end of the license fee would mean for Doctor Who is hard to gauge at this juncture, the show being both a big money-spinner for the Corporation and also hugely expensive. While there is no imminent threat to the show, and any savings the BBC have to make could potentially be saved from cuts to services beyond the main channels, any change to the BBC’s structure could have a long-term effect on how the show is produced, how often and even by who.
The Daily Mail
Senior Doctor Who figures are concerned.
Speaking in January, former showrunner Russell T. Davies was concerned for the future should the licence fee be scrapped:
“When the Conservatives got in, practically the first visitor David Cameron had was Rupert Murdoch, practically the first thing they did was freeze the licence fee with no consultation whatsoever, they attacked it immediately… they will do the same thing again. [The BBC] is under constant attack now. We are in a situation where the licence fee will never go up. I cannot imagine a rise being allowed now. And I genuinely believe in the BBC for its cultural worth. I think it is a magnificent powerhouse and I fear for it.”
Asked what would happen should the fee be scrapped, Davies was concerned at the effect commercialisation would have:
“Writers will still write, programmes will still be made even if it’s in our bedrooms, missing the BBC will be like missing the NHS. Everything that arrives in your home will be a commercial product and I don’t think that’s right.”
Steven Moffat was in agreement, insisting that any cut would harm Doctor Who:
“It sounds like a punishment rather than a saving. Are licence fee payers protesting hugely? No. They shouldn’t, we give them lots of rubber green people in Doctor Who. Alien invasions are accomplished by at least three of them. Any cut in the licence fee and we’d have solo invasions. That’d be rubbish.”
Mark Gatiss, speaking to The Observer, meanwhile believes that any change to the fee should be decided by referendum:
“I just can’t bear the ratings obsession. It’s the first line of every email. It’s the first thing you hear. But this is why the licence fee exists. And the BBC is copying these formats from the commercial industry and is at risk of death by 1,000 cutbacks. I just think the argument should be brought to a head with a referendum about the licence fee. ‘Do you want this or not?’ And I think 98% of the population would say: ‘Of course we do.’ Because for a paltry amount of money, it champions the right to experiment and the right to fail, and to take creative risks. The Daily Mail would cower under a rock. It’s time the BBC go grow a pair of bollocks and fight back.”
It seems however that despite criticism and concern, not only from Doctor Who figures, but across the culture and entertainment spectrum, the government is intent to press ahead with reform of the BBC, Sajid Javid saying:
“It’s time to have the charter review, it is a process that will take place over a number of months, it should be driven by the evidence. When it comes to the long term future of the BBC, clearly there have been a lot of changes in the broadcasting environment, not least technology changes. I think it’s sensible to look at that, to make sure the BBC is on a sustainable long term funding arrangement.”
A BBC statement last year insisted the fee was vital:
“At just £2.80 a week the BBC Licence Fee is excellent value for money. It’s vital that programmes like EastEnders, Strictly, Sherlock, Doctor Who and Match of the Day can been watched by everyone - not a select few; and support for the Licence Fee has actually risen by 22% since 2004 and remains the most popular way of funding the BBC.”
Outgoing head of BBC Drama Ben Stephenson told Radio Times that the fee had to be increased rather than scrapped:
“It really can’t keep cutting… and the truth is the market isn’t going to fill the gap of the BBC. There will be less drama and fewer jobs. It doesn’t make sense on an economic level. We do need to increase the licence fee… but I am leaving the country so people have to decide what they want to do. There isn’t TV in this country, there is the BBC. It wasn’t TV that started, it was the BBC. Someone invented the TV but it was the BBC that invented British television. You can’t just pull the rug from under that and think that nothing is going to change. And the BBC will be the poorer for it. We are funded less than we were in 2000. That’s not a moan, it’s a fact. So you look at your slate in a different way – it’s a reason why you don’t have lots of ten- or 20-part runs. You make the money go further by having lots of different dramas. But we are at a tipping point.”
Despite there being a strong depth of feeling both at the BBC and amongst the public, appetite for the scrapping of the fee has been rising in recent years, both amongst right-wing parties and the press but also seemingly from the public at large. A 2014 poll of more than 2,000 people by ComRes and commissioned by the Whitehouse Consultancy media analysts, found that 51 percent of those surveyed would support the idea of abolishing the licence fee and making the BBC fund itself. A similar ICM/Telegraph poll the previous year suggested that 49 percent of those surveyed said the licence fee should be scrapped entirely, with a further 21 percent saying the current £145.50 price should be reduced. It should be noted that both polls were in The Telegraph… so lies, damned lies and statistics..? or is there genuine appetite for change?
What do you think? should the licence fee be maintained? what would the effect be on shows like Doctor Who should it be scrapped? Let us know via Twitter, Facebook or in the comments section!
