TV licences ought to be scrapped (From The Bolton News)

TV licences ought to be scrapped

ALAN Knowles seems to have spent a lot of time studying the broadcasting media.

However, if he had spent just a little more time reading my letter, he would not have said that I called for the introduction of advertising on BBC World - the service that beams BBC programmes to the world - when, in fact, what I said was -"Apparently, ministers are suggesting that the BBC should introduce advertising and sponsorship on channels such as News 24, BBC World News and the two digital channels."

This was a piece from a national newspaper. The same article also referred to - "Radical proposals, part of a revolutionary shake-up at the BBC." Mr Knowles says this did not happen, nor was it expected to.

I wouldn't want to cross swords with such a knowledgeable person as Mr Knowles, but surely he could see that the whole point of my letter was to suggest the scrapping of the licence - a suggestion I have made in previous letters - and, with this in mind, I called for the BBC to become more commercially competitive, and for the introduction of advertising and sponsorship on all channels, meaning, of course, those financed by the licence.

Brian Derbyshire,

Ribchester Grove, Bolton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.