Mark Thompson on Sky
Sky should invest more in homegrown TV programmes, preaches BBC chief, Mark Thompson.
I'm sure they would if we gave them over £2 billion of public money through the license fee each year.
"It's time Sky pulled their weight" he declares. Sky would love to pull more weight, if only they - and the rest of British broadcasting - could escape the gravitational pull of the BBC black hole that dominates the UK broadcast universe.
While Sky's revenues come by persuading willing customers to purchase the product Sky has to offer, the BBC is funded through coercion. If you don't pay the license fee, the state will use force against you to make you give the BBC your cash.
Mr Thompson should remember that before lecturing Sky on how to broadcast.
We are constantly told by Mark Thompson and co that the BBC license fee represents value for money. If true, then why not make purchasing the BBC product a matter for each individual viewer? We'd soon see if the rest of the viewing public agreed.
Without a license fee, money that would otherwise have been channeled to the BBC might even go to Sky, enabling them to commission more programmes the way Mark Thompson wants.