Losing the BBC would be bad for society and for democracy, peers are warning today.
The Corporation faces unprecedented pressure amid competition from subscription services, such as Netflix , the Lords Communications and Digital Committee says.
It found public sector broadcasters – PSBs – failed to appeal to certain viewers, such as 16 to 34-year-olds.
Its 88-page report states: “Younger generations are not growing up with PSBs as previous generations did.”
Chairman Lord Gilbert of Panteg said: “For many people, especially young people, watching TV in real-time is now the exception rather than the norm.”
The committee also calls for cricket’s Ashes series and the British Open golf tournament to be added to the list of protected sports events which must be shown free.
And it hit out at the Government for shifting the £745-million-a-year cost of giving free TV licences to the over-75s to the BBC.
The Mirror is campaigning to keep the benefit, which, from June, will be given only to over-75s who are entitled to Pension Credit.
The BBC has been landed with responsibility for funding free licences under a deal stitched up in 2015.
The peers’ report says: “The decision on whether to provide free licences to the over-75s is a matter of welfare policy.
"The BBC should not have been asked to take on this decision. Responsibility for licences for over-75s should be off the table in future licence negotiations.”
Lord Gilbert concluded: “At a time of polarisation, public service broadcasters play a role in unifying the country through shared experiences.
“If we fail to support our public service broadcasters, audiences would miss them when they’re gone.”
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