I WAS sorry to learn of the death of the liberal, laissez-faire economist Professor Sir Alan Peacock.A far-seeing man, he
produced an eponymous report which recommended that the BBC should be funded not
by a compulsory licence fee, but by voluntary subscription. The BBC resisted.
The recommendations were never implemented.Even as far back as 1986, Alan
Peacock recognised that the BBC was anachronistic: since its foundation, the
world of broadcasting had changed fundamentally, with the advent of multiple
radio and television stations.The Peacock Report (1986) was prescient: the internet has
revolutionised mass communications, entertainment and broadcasting.In an age of
increasing choice, the element of compulsion is anathema: if people want to
watch TV they must buy a licence, whether or not they want to watch the BBC. It
is a form of extortion.The concept of public service broadcasting is a myth. The
BBC’s coverage of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, for example, was a
disgrace. The BBC compulsory licence fee is rather like saying that if you want
to read The Yorkshire
Post you must first buy the Guardian.
