Media Industries GapFill

The BBC (British  B-rollBroadcastingBillboardBandplan Corporation) is a media broadcaster whose primary obligation is  public entertainmentpublic servicepublic managementbrainwashing. The broadcaster is effectively owned by the public but regulated by the state on their behalf. According to Lord  Winston ChurchillJack PalanceJohn ReithSydney Newman (the first managing director of the BBC), the BBC has three core aims: to educate, to inform and to  enlightenvalidateentertaincommunicate with its audience. All these aims take priority over the generation of profit. Therefore, it is not obliged (in the way  communistMarxistcommercialcapitalist broadcasters are) to interrupt its content with  advertisementspolitical statementsreligious statementsweather announcements. ‘An Unearthly Child’ was produced during a period in which the BBC was under threat from the popularity of privately owned broadcaster   Channel 4HBOBBC ThreeITV. This broadcaster was less constrained and more able to produce riskier more exciting content.

The BBC is (as it was in 1963) funded by the  top-earning one percentpublicmanagement teamtrade unions, who pay an annual licence fee in order to maintain access to the broadcaster’s content. As of April 2019, the cost of the licence fee is  £554.50£54.50£154.50£104.50. There has been a huge debate over the past decade as to whether the licence fee should be reduced or scrapped entirely. Those in favour of the public’s contribution would argue that the BBC still offers good value for money by producing quality shows such as Line of Duty and  Love IslandX FactorStrictly Come DancingBritain’s Got Talent. The system splits the cost of the BBC across as many consumers as possible, enabling the BBC to make long-term investments in new and exciting programmes, and, in 2014, BBC content was still viewed by approximately  86%96%56%66% of UK residents each week. Those against the system argue that fewer and fewer people under the age of 25 are viewing television content through traditional channels such as the BBC. Furthermore, the cost of the fee is constantly increasing due to  welfarecorporate greedausterityinflation. Many believe that the concept is outdated considering that it only cost audiences 10  shillingsdollarsguineasfarthings a year in 1923, when the licence fee was first introduced. This would amount to approximately  £20£100£10£1 in today’s money.