It seems utterly ridiculous to me that all residents of the UK have to pay £157.50 annually to the BBC in order to access a range of TV channels, radio stations, and a range of online content (including non-BBC media). [1] It makes no sense that everyone has to pay for the privilege for one channel which refuses to rely on advertising and government grants, like every other UK channel does. People have to pay TV licence even if they don’t want to watch the BBC. The law states that you must have a TV licence if you: [4] - watch or record live TV programmes on any channel, even if it's not on the BBC - watch or stream programmes live on an online TV service such as ITV Hub, All 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV and Sky Go - download or watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer These rules apply to any device on which a programme is viewed. Even if you don’t have a TV, if you watch or stream and channel/show on your phone, tablet, or laptop you have to pay the full TV licence fee. I think it is ridiculous that even if you decided to watch a live show by a non-BBC channel on your phone, you still have to pay the full £157.50 price annually. The TV licence affects the poorest in society the most. It is not fair that some people who cannot afford to pay the fee lose their right to gain immediate access to important news as well as other programmes. It is also unjust that young people (particularly students) and the elderly, who often have no stable income have to pay for this access. Currently, TV licences are only free to over 75s who rely on pension credit and those who are disabled and in care – everybody else has to pay fully. [2] If you do not pay this fee, enquiry officers are legally allowed to apply for a search warrant to your house and if they find evidence that you should be paying a TV licence, you could face a fine of up to £1000. [3] On top of the immorality of charging almost everyone a full TV licence fee instead of the BBC using advertisements to make their money, it is greatly unfair to place such heavy charges upon people who do not pay the TV licence fee. TV licensing is an outdated concept that gives the BBC too much power as a company in the UK. Having to pay £157.50 annually to the BBC, when you might not even watch or listen to any of their outlets, but instead want to consume other forms of media which are not BBC branded, is unethical and immoral. I believe that the TV licence fee should be scrapped completely, or people should at least have the option to only pay for what they want out of the media that is currently included in the licence (e.g if you only want to listen to radio and not watch TV, the fee should be reduced). [1] ‘What Does your TV Licence Fee Pay For?’, (https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/what-does-your-licence-fee-pay-for-top13?&WT.mc_id=mec_Search_Brand&gclid=CjwKCAiAu8SABhAxEiwAsodSZOdh-eEOneNxBXG-x6q24gd8keUyIN9hZO7csV357S-WJ7H9FV4texoCU5QQAvD_BwE) [2] ‘Are there any concessions available?’, (https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ101) [3] ‘What Happens if I Don’t Pay for a TV Licence?’, (https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ71) [4] ‘Do I need a TV licence and what does it pay for?’, (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-51376255)

**The licence fee should be kept because the BBC provides a critically valuable service to the nation that cannot be replicated by private providers, but it should much smaller, and be set by income level.** If I had my way, the BBC would only focus on content that commercial TV channels find difficult to monetise - news, the arts, education, great children's programmes - and spend ALL their time working out how to do those in the most engaging way possible. The social advantages of having a profoundly unbiased, trusted, reliable news source widely respected by all political and social demographics in the community are immense. Look at the US, pulled between Fox and CNN, for the alternative. And the social value of arts and education programming done to the best possible standard is also non-negligible culturally. Last point: there's a strong argument that the BBC is an engine of real economic growth, at the heart of the arts and media sector in the UK, which contributes [£100BN+ to the UK economy every year](https://www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk/) - by far the most productive per capita. So: I'd keep the licence fee (which would be reduced since it would only need to cover core news, arts, education, etc), and make it a progressive charge (rising with income).

make it a subscription and allow people to opt into it if wanted. No need for these channels if we're watching one of many others via cable etc.