David Elstein proposes....
 

The right-wing think-tank committee headed up by David Elstein former
executive for Sky and OnDigital and sponsored by the Conservatives have made
proposals that broadly mean the end of the BBC and good value and high
quality public-service broadcasting as we have known it.

It is all going to be "Pay-Up TV" with all broadcasting public service or
not to be available only by subscription....from 2007 all receivers for DTT
services (digital terrestrial) will have to have a conditional access module
and card slot.

The licence fee will be abolished and the BBC will be expected to compete
with for subscriptions.

What will this mean?..well,in my view ,we will pay for everything twice like
one does with Sky - you pay a subscription to watch adverts giving the
channel
double income.

The commercial public service broadcasters (whom Elstein largely represents)
have resented for years the hot competition for prime time popular
programming that the BBC has produced.They want that competition to go away
so that they can offer cheaper lower quality programming to give a higher
revenue from advertising and ideally they would like the same quantity of
gravy that Sky enjoys with subscription revenue as well.

We will end up with US style TV ..hours of drivel that costs big money.

Top-Up TV is held up as the model for future DTT...effectively 5 channels of
scheduling that is largely bought - in old material repeated and repeated
for £8 permonth = £96 per year (BBC Licence Fee is £121 per year).Of course
for channels showing new material that they have originated like BBC
channels and ITV1 the cost must inevitably be higher probably for five of
them viz BBC1 & 2 ,ITV 1 ,Channel 4 & Five say treble the cost £24 permonth
= £288 a year.

So channels that cost you currently £121 + the cost of ITV advertising via
the products you buy - will end up costing you 2.5 times as much


More money for less TV.....

But fat pay-packets & pensions for the TV bosses and their shareholders.

The whole lot is an outrageous con .....

What will this mean?..well,in my view ,we will pay for everything twice
like
one does with Sky - you pay a subscription to watch adverts giving the
channel
double income.


Adverts? I've not watched an advert for probably a year or more. Almost
everything I now watch is time shifted thanks to Tivo, and as technology
advances more and more people will have this option. Video gave us the
option to skip the ads, but as digital recording slowly becomes the norn, we
will all be able to blat the ads without a second thought.

David Elstein

is a ****!

"ArmandAlegge" wrote in message
...
The right-wing think-tank committee headed up by David Elstein former
executive for Sky and OnDigital and sponsored by the Conservatives have
made
proposals that broadly mean the end of the BBC and good value and high
quality public-service broadcasting as we have known it.

Surely (hopefully) this would only be the case if enough people were daft
enough to vote Tory next time around? Or is this lad part of a government
committee?

The Tories wrecked the remaining public broadcasting element of ITV back in
the 1980's, surely they can't imagine they'll get more votes from doing
likewise to the BBC?

*shudder*

Ian

"Ian.2" wrote in message
...

"ArmandAlegge" wrote in message
...
The right-wing think-tank committee headed up by David Elstein former
executive for Sky and OnDigital and sponsored by the Conservatives have
made
proposals that broadly mean the end of the BBC and good value and high
quality public-service broadcasting as we have known it.

Surely (hopefully) this would only be the case if enough people were daft
enough to vote Tory next time around? Or is this lad part of a government
committee?

The Tories wrecked the remaining public broadcasting element of ITV back
in
the 1980's, surely they can't imagine they'll get more votes from doing
likewise to the BBC?

*shudder*

Well, it looks like Tory HQ have read the runes of public opinion regarding
the BBC after Hutton and will withdraw their salivating dogs of war against
the Beeb if the following article titled "Tories to reposition party as the
friend of the BBC" is to be believed :

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conse...154510,00.html

Who knows WHAT those ever so lovely and fluffy Tories will come up with next
: they might announce that students won't have to pay fees, that mothers can
be paid to stay at home, and that they can cut taxes AND spend more on
public services? No, surely they couldn't be THAT brazenly cynical?!

AlexQ.

~ Reply-to valid ~

"ArmandAlegge" wrote in message
...
The right-wing think-tank committee headed up by David Elstein former
executive for Sky and OnDigital and sponsored by the Conservatives have
made
proposals that broadly mean the end of the BBC and good value and high
quality public-service broadcasting as we have known it.

Freeview will not carry BBC TV services, only radio.
Digital receivers without decrypt will not show BBC TV.

What a boost for ITV, C4 and C5.

"ArmandAlegge" wrote
It is all going to be "Pay-Up TV" with all broadcasting public service or
not to be available only by subscription....

Of course, the BBC is already "Pay-Up TV".

But I agree that we would probably end up (through a combination of direct
and indirect payment) the same amount of money for inferior ratings-obsessed
broadcasting.

Top-Up TV is held up as the model for future DTT...effectively 5 channels
of
scheduling that is largely bought - in old material repeated and repeated
for £8 permonth = £96 per year (BBC Licence Fee is £121 per year)

Old material on channels like UK Gold that are mostly repeats of BBC shows -
that were funded by the very licence-fee system that they want to scrap.
Irony in action.

But fat pay-packets & pensions for the TV bosses and their shareholders.

Oh definitely. And the BBC is haven free of endless advertising for loans,
debt consolidation, accident insurance, car insurance, premium rate phone
lines and religious CD compilations.

And how much money have the NSPCC blown on advertising on VH-1 when they
could have spent it on the children they're supposed to be helping ?

"Slow Flyer" wrote in message
...

"ArmandAlegge" wrote in message
...
The right-wing think-tank committee headed up by David
Elstein former
executive for Sky and OnDigital and sponsored by the
Conservatives have
made
proposals that broadly mean the end of the BBC and good value
and high
quality public-service broadcasting as we have known it.

Freeview will not carry BBC TV services, only radio.
Digital receivers without decrypt will not show BBC TV.

What a boost for ITV, C4 and C5.

Why not issue a "BBC" card in exchange for the licence fee?




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wrote in message
...
On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 15:39:09 -0000, as the pitiful wreck that had once
been "Jim" was cut from the mess that had once
been his life, he managed to utter:

Why not issue a "BBC" card in exchange for the licence fee?

Because the vast majority of Freeview boxes, do not have slots to plug
the cards in.

And even if it does, the card will enable only one box; the licence covers
you for all the TV devices in the household.

"Hoi Polloi" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
...

Why not issue a "BBC" card in exchange for the licence fee?

Because the vast majority of Freeview boxes, do not have
slots to plug
the cards in.

Well, obviously the current ones don't, but with TUTV, many new
ones will have it as an option. I'm not suggesting this could
be done overnight. It would take a few years. We wouldn't need
the complex administration of the current system - just sell the
cards to anyone who wants one, there should be less evasion
(though of course the criminal element would find an opportunity
to make money).

And even if it does, the card will enable only one box; the
licence covers
you for all the TV devices in the household.

Acknowledged. The "BBC" box could have a UHF output for
distributing unencrypted signals to other devices in the house.
I don't know how practical it would be to put re-multiplexed
channels on this - perhaps easier if encryption could be applied
to the entire multiplex?

Or they could just make the cards cheaper than the licence fee
and make people buy more than one. That would benefit those
living alone, and is arguably fairer.

Sony iDTVs have a CAM slot and a UHF output (or two?), but I
doubt they are controllable.






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In article ,
"Jim" writes:
"Hoi Polloi" wrote in message
...
And even if it does, the card will enable only one box; the
licence covers you for all the TV devices in the household.

Acknowledged. The "BBC" box could have a UHF output for
distributing unencrypted signals to other devices in the house.
I don't know how practical it would be to put re-multiplexed
channels on this - perhaps easier if encryption could be applied
to the entire multiplex?

There are people working on this sort of thing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp082.html

Or they could just make the cards cheaper than the licence fee
and make people buy more than one. That would benefit those
living alone, and is arguably fairer.

I was fascinated to note that Elstein wants the BBC to operate on a voluntary
subscription basis in future---all these years, I've been under the impression
that it already did that.
--
SAm.

"ArmandAlegge" wrote in message
...
The right-wing think-tank committee headed up by David Elstein former
executive for Sky and OnDigital and sponsored by the Conservatives have
made
proposals that broadly mean the end of the BBC and good value and high
quality public-service broadcasting as we have known it.

"Good value"? When you make such a ludicrous comment I know I am about to
be preached to.


--
MESSAGE ENDS.
John Porcella

""John Porcella"
I would not waste my breath attempting to preach to you....just keep
plugging Sky,Mr Porcella.

"John Porcella" wrote in message
...

"ArmandAlegge" wrote in message
...
The right-wing think-tank committee headed up by David Elstein former
executive for Sky and OnDigital and sponsored by the Conservatives have
made
proposals that broadly mean the end of the BBC and good value and high
quality public-service broadcasting as we have known it.

"Good value"? When you make such a ludicrous comment I know I am about to
be preached to.


--
MESSAGE ENDS.
John Porcella

It seems the Tories regard it as too harsh even for them.
I think Hutton may have caused some big problems but also some unlikely
allies for the BBC.