The BBC Is Great

Controversial, perhaps, but it’s time that someone raise their voice in support of the BBC.

OK, I’m no heavy-hitter. Maybe nobody will ever read these words, but I feel it important to write them.

The BBC is an amazing British institution. It covers radio, TV, the internet and supports events all over the UK.

It even has a World Service broadcasting to the whole planet in a number of languages.

Like all establishment organs it has its problems and I could spend a age going on about what I dislike about it. Having said that I want to change my focus and look at what is fantastic and what gets me excited.

The BBC costs around £145 per year for a TV license. I find it amazing when I hear people tell me that it is outrageous that they have to pay that for the BBC, espacially when they are often the same people paying £60 per month for a Sky TV package. Hello?

One of the things that really excited me is technology and over the years the BBC has whetted my appetite. In fact you could even say that the BBC was responsible for the very programmes that got me engaged with this subject in the first place.

As a boy I loved watching episodes of “Tomorrow’s World” (remember that?) and even today I have the Technology section of the BBC website on my bookmarks, especially the insightful writing of Rory Cellan Jones, the BBC Technology Correspondent.

This is just one area where the BBC touches part of our lives. Perhaps it’s time to stop asking what the BBC costs and to start realsing the value it has in our lives. After all it works out at less than 50p per day for the license fee.

I imagine if there was a time without the BBC we would gladly pay 50p to have a day where we could watch quality TV (not all, but some), listen to Radio 4 and go to one of the best websites in the world.