BBC should not be funded by licence fee alone

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Two-thirds of the public believe that the BBC should no longer be funded by the licence fee alone, according to a new government report that will have far-reaching consequences for the future of the corporation.
But the research concluded that the licence fee was the "least worst" option for funding the BBC which was deemed to have an overall "satisfaction rating" of 75%.

However the report highlighted widespread concern even among the BBC's strongest supporters that programming had "declined in quality".

The "unanimity about the sense of decline in quality of BBC television output is startling," said the report, What you said about the BBC.

There has also been an intriguing shift in viewers' perception of the BBC, long characterised as the nation's "Auntie". The public now sees the corporation as a bossy, conservative and middle-aged man in his 50s.

Commissioned by culture secretary Tessa Jowell, the report will be seen as a significant barometer of public opinion about the BBC's future funding.

Its publication marks the start of the government review of the BBC's charter which is being headed up by Lord Burns, a close ally of former BBC director general Lord Birt.

The report is based on what viewers, not the industry thinks about the corporation and was based on a variety of studies including a Mori poll, focus groups and a consultation with the public which elicited more than 5,500 responses from viewers and interested parties.

It showed that the public retains a high degree of support for the corporation but has a number of pressing concerns about its output and the way it is run.

Ms Jowell said today the report would "provide a baseline for us to now go forward and shape the BBC of the future".