Big Brother Corporation

Andrew Bolt: "It is astonishing that the BBC should think this commercial was a warning to viewers to pay their BBC TV licence fees, rather than a warning that some bureaucrats have far, far too much power". I'm not a civil-liberties-at-all-costs kind of person but this ad gives me the creeps, too.

Comments

[Mike Kingscott]

Yes, rather like the DVLA advert of a few years ago, where you're told "you can't escape the computer" - very opressive. Also, the new DVLA ad is pretty bad, saying "we have the power to crush your car" - Big Brother indeed...

[Steevo]

Big mother indeed. It is creepy. It doesn't surprise me other than their blindness to the obvious. It is obvious right?

[Acorn]

Time to get rid of the "television tax" Fund the products that have a true public broadcasting (PB) mandate from general taxation, privatise the rest, see how many survive.

There is no reason for any BBC music channels to be in the public sector. Radio 4; Radio 5 and the World Service Radio are PB candidates. BBC 2 and BBC World television, plus their foreign language derivatives are PB candidates.

Commercial radio and television have always been treated as secondary to the BBC, when it should be the other way round.

I see BBC News 24, has dropped the "24", is there something we should be told?

[batmantim]

The Tories comments on the license fee are encouraging, but how far will they go? This advert seems to be playing to the database state policies of the 'dead party walking' which the Tories have already committed to jettisoning. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the BBC continued its slide to the left in such a manner, just in time to catch the crest of a wave from a new Tory government? We can dream.

[Tony Makara]

Many elderly and poor people pay the TV licence on a weekly scheme, this amount to around five pounds a week extra tax on their already stretched incomes. What's more the bizarre bureaucracy of the government means that once this years licence is paid for those on the weekly scheme are automatically drafted onto paying for next years licence. This means that they can can face the bizarre situation of being fined or imprisoned for missing payments on a licence that doesn't currently exist. The threatening tone of 'government information' films tells us everything we need to know about the oppressive Labour regime. The parallels with Orwell's tele-screen are chilling. When will a Conservative government liberate us from the licence fee? This can be done by making the BBC available via encryption only, those who want to buy the licence get a card to fit their digibox and get the signal, those that don't buy a licence don't get access to BBC output. Although ideally a Conservative government should do what the country craves and privatize a failed nationalized industry that is a drain on the public purse.

[Bexie]

Yech

paying to have pravda beamed into my home. At least with sattelite TV I can watch Sky and Fox news

[George Hinton]

What on earth is this country coming to?

That was insidious and clearly produced by an ex-member of the STASI.

Time for the country to demand that the TV licence is done way with.

[Tony Hannon]

An area where I agree wich much Conservative commentary.

The laughable thing is that the ad is bluster - complete and utter bluster.

They have neither the facilities to follow-up on every address, nor the right of entry to check for equipment if they do send an licence inspector. They have about 13 vans nationwide with the equivalent of tin-foil rods to point at houses in the pretense at "detection" equipment.

We're all on the database all right but all it does is churn out aggressive, pointless, threatening letters (I've paid mine before you ask!!).

Isn't it a little shallow in the quest for EVERYTHING to be Labour's fault that they get them blame for this aswell?

The licence fee is a stupid tax, administered in a stupid and costly way and should be scrapped. No need to pointlessly invoke Big Brother to make this clear cut argument (IMHO).

If we're blaming the Government for the nature of advertising now then I'd very much like to hear their explanation for the infuriating insurance comparison sites and "blamedirect dot com"!!

[Adam-]

I cheaped out and bought a black and white portable television a while back to catch the handful of decent programmes lurking in the sea of mediocrity. The £47 telly tax cost more than the telly and Freeview receiver combined.

Worth every penny to see the election night though!

[John Leonard]

Sinister, pathetic and it wreaks of desperation (what % of households don't pay the licence?) but par for the course from the Brown Broadcasting Corporation.

That said, it should convince even more that the BBC is worthless and needs to be radically reformed.

Keep it coming BBC!

[Doug]

Is the BBC really the Matrix?

[Alan S]

"It's all in the database"

The way she says those words at the end of the video.

Almost made me shiver.

[Paid up]

What's all this fuss?
Noone has anything to fear if they pay their TV licence.

[Dontmakemelaugh]

What's all this fuss?
Noone has anything to fear if they pay their TV licence.

Posted by: Paid up | May 06, 2008 at 18:08

Actually you have a lot to fear. You are paying imho for the distorting, misleading, pacifist, dangerous Left- wing bias and pro EU propaganda.
For the latest gloom and doom on global warming see the BBC report, as reported in the EUReferendum blog of Tuesday (yesterday). Compare the BBC gloom on the Australian drought (all due to GW) said to be decimating its wheat crop and then read the very optimistic summary in the Australian predicting bumper crops.
You have a lot to fear from the BBC - an attack on your wallet for Green taxes, just for a start.