APPENDIX 20
Memorandum submitted by Mr Nicholas Winterton,
MP
I understand that your Committee has invited
written evidence as part of its inquiry into "The Funding
of the BBC".
As Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Media
Group I do take a very active interest in media issues, although
I should explain from the outset that the Media Group itself is
merely a discussion forum and does not normally formulate or adopt
a common position on matters of policy.
I felt that I should nevertheless write to put
on record my own purely personal views about the proposal in particular
that an additional payment should be introduced by way of a licence
increase for members of the public to purchase digital television
equipment, and that the funding raised should be passed to the
BBC to help meet its own costs in entering the digital environment.
It seems to me that one of the major remaining
factors deterring up-take of digital television receivers is the
capital cost of the equipment itself, and unless sufficient people
purchase such equipment in the near future, digital terrestrial
television will be a failure as alternative delivery systems,
satellite, cable and Internet, fill the void. Introducing an additional
financial hurdle of this sort would seem to me therefore to be
contrary to the interests of the industry as a whole and should
be opposed.
I also question the wisdom of some of the BBC's
recent investment in new services and wonder at the real justification
for diverting substantial sums into its own common site and 24-hour
news channel, to say nothing of some of the payments associated
with access to satellite delivery systems.
In short, perhaps the time has come to re-examine
the role of the BBC. Should it really be seeking to be an active
participant of all delivery platforms or should it instead concentrate
on its core purpose of producing broadcast material which educates,
entertains and informs? If it produces quality material others
will be queuing up to buy and broadcast it.
I hope that these comments are of interest and
assistance to you and your Committee in its important inquiry.
October 1999
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