Julia Hartley-Brewer’s criticism of licence that funds the BBC has backfired spectacularly as people on Twitter have defended the fee by destroying her argument in a number of different ways.
The debate surrounding the BBC licence fee has arisen once again after the government announced a two-year freeze in the broadcaster’s funding, with plans to abolish the licence fee completely in 2027.
Culture secretary, Nadine Dorries said: “This licence fee announcement will be the last. The days of the elderly being threatened with prison sentences and bailiffs knocking on doors are over. Time now to discuss and debate new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content.”
While BBC stars, Gary Lineker, Nish Kumar, Armando Iannucci, Michael Rosen, and Deborah Meaden have defended the broadcaster, talkRADIO host Julia Hartley-Brewer appears to have questioned whether the licence fee is good value for money.
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In a tweet, she wrote: “I pay the BBC licence fee and these are the only services I ever use. Good value for money...?”
The tweet also includes an image of a table that has all the different BBC services and programmes, where all of them are crossed out except the services Hartley-Brewer says she uses, which are: BBC One, BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC News, BBC Parliament, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5.
I pay the BBC licence fee and these are the only services I ever use. Good value for money...?🤷🏻♀️ pic.twitter.com/435wmJGBrn
— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) January 16, 2022
But many were quick to point out how Hartley-Brewer’s argument fails when you apply it to different contexts.
While we pay a monthly fee for the internet, it would be pretty difficult to use/access every single part of the internet yet we still believe we get good value for money.
I PAY FOR BROADBAND ON A MONTHLY BASIS, YET I NEVER USE THE ENTIRETY OF THE INTERNET
— Sugar Horse (@sugarhorse666) January 17, 2022
IS THIS VALUE FOR MONEY? NO
THEREFORE TAKE THE INTERNET AWAY FROM EVERYONE https://t.co/wN1sy6IJHL
Someone else applied this logic to our council tax, things would be a little different if we used Hartley-Brewer’s logic...
I pay the my council tax and these are the only services I ever use. Good value for money...?🤷♂️ https://t.co/ZAjtt4ckpH pic.twitter.com/yxrookH9kZ
— Sean Coleman (@colemandesign) January 16, 2022
As others also pointed out the flaw in only paying for what we use.
I pay my taxes and only used two schools, three hospitals and a tiny fraction of the roads… I want my money back for the stuff I didn’t ever use. https://t.co/dhMQ9iQuxq
— Nathaniel J Hall (@NathanielJHall) January 17, 2022
“I pay road tax on my car and these are the only roads I ever use. Good value for money?” https://t.co/OY5FdMfXl2
— George Peretz QC (@GeorgePeretzQC) January 17, 2022
You think that's bad... 5% of my council tax bill goes on the fire service and so far my house hasn't been burnt down once. It's an absolute disgrace. https://t.co/Wjboqo6C8o
— Morphobraincreature (@Morphobrain) January 17, 2022
As comedian Rosie Jones joked, does this mean we’ve been wasting our money on confectionary if we only eat our favourites from a box of chocolates?
I paid for a tin of Celebrations at Christmas and I only ate the Snickers, Mars, Bounties, Milky Ways, Galaxy Milks, Galaxy Caramels and Maltesers Teasers. Good value for money…? 🤷🏻♀️ https://t.co/S5Zxf0er25
— Rosie Jones (@josierones) January 17, 2022
How about when we use other facilities such as a swimming pool?
When I go to the swimming pool I only ever use one lane out of eight. So why do I have to pay £4 and not just 50p. https://t.co/34hDdfXwQL
— Declan Lawn (@DecLawn) January 17, 2022
Meanwhile, someone else was able to provide the perfect analogy of a bus service to explain why the BBC is beneficial for us all, even if we don’t watch every single program.
The answer to your question is ‘Yes.’ If it helps, think of the BBC as a bus service. You get on and off at your stops; other people use different ones. The licence fee is fantastic value. Watch a single BBC show and you’re quids in. Mine pays for about 5 seconds of Line of Duty. https://t.co/gQY4cfFRfw
— Nicholas Pegg (@NicholasPegg) January 17, 2022
When breaking down the cost of the £159 licence fee, it equates to the bargain price of just 43p per day to access all of these services as plenty of people have highlighted in this debate.
43p a day to use all of that? Yes I'd honestly say that was great value.
— Otto English (@Otto_English) January 17, 2022
For 43p a day, yes I'd say that's great value for those valuable resources
— Kris Griffiths (@KrisGriffiths) January 16, 2022
It’s a good point, getting BBC One, Two & Radios 4 & 5Live plus dedicated channels for News and Parliament along with EVERYTHING on iPlayer for 43p a day does seem good value.
— Matt Arnold (@Moonraked) January 17, 2022
Cheers for helping make the case for the defence @JuliaHB1 x #SaveOurBBC https://t.co/KiyqvYV1q5
Yes, Julia, 43p a day for access to seven media outlets is a bargain. Not to mention you probably see BBC News articles in passing on Twitter too, so make that 8.
— Callum (@callum_nowacki) January 17, 2022
One person also noted we’re not just paying the fee for ourselves, but also for the benefit of others so we all win.
Imagine! Paying things for the mutual benefit of others. https://t.co/IX9KCTqo31
— Nat Guest (@unfortunatalie) January 17, 2022
When applying this argument to getting the money’s worth out of a festival ticket - it would certainly make for an intense experience.
Why should I pay so much for a festival ticket if I don’t want to see all 350+ acts on the bill? #SaveOurBBC https://t.co/0Pthc0wSVs
— Drowned in Sound ⚓️ (@DrownedinSound) January 17, 2022
While others pointed out that Hartley-Brewer has benefitted from the BBC since she has appeared as a guest on BBC One’s Question Time - and the fact that her profile picture is actually from one of her appearances on the programme.
BBC Services would have been responsible for using funds from the license fee to pay your invoice for appearing on Question Time. The show your profile pic is from. https://t.co/sAU2HP7Syd
— Stephen Grant (@stephencgrant) January 17, 2022
BBC Question Time paid for your profile picture https://t.co/gwo2g7fJcd
— J Λ M Ξ S (@jamesglynn) January 17, 2022
Some noted how people choose to pay for a Netflix subscription but due to its never-ending catalogue, people wouldn’t be getting their money’s worth if Hartley-Brewer’s argument was applied here.
lol imagine if you made the same graphic and crossed out every weird and wonderful show you don’t watch on Netflix. The image would be so small you wouldn’t be able to read a single title. https://t.co/xZijn30LIx
— Toby Forster (@TobyForster88) January 17, 2022
Totally agree.
— Alex Phillips (@ThatAlexWoman) January 17, 2022
But then again if I did a similar audit of content on Netflix and Amazon Prime, the carnage of crosses would be even worse. https://t.co/mV0qESZJLD
Something tells us this BBC licence debate is going away anytime soon.
