Britain’s state broadcaster is looking at a new logo and name for its enforcement branch, TV Licensing, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Mediawatch-UK told the newspaper that the revamp was a waste of money. Broadcaster Esther Rantzen agreed. She suggested that the media giant might “do a variation of ‘It Could Be You’ (a national lottery slogan), with a bailiff with a club and a quivering guilty non-payer”. Rantzen added that “the only method (of extracting the licence fee) is the fear of what will happen if you don’t”.
Brand consultant Richard Buchanan was more enthusiastic about the idea of disguising the truth about the way the Corporation take £3bn a year from the people of the UK. He regretted that “the logo looks like it’s in the business of money collection . . . you need to make people feel good about paying”. Mr. Buchanan seemed not to have noticed the proliferation of terrestrial and satellite TV channels and painted a picture of blank TV screens when the broadcaster is no longer able charge a fee for permission to watch television.
The BBC takes £135.50 from 25m households and business premises to fund its broadcasting and other activities. It is illegal to watch TV without permission from the broadcaster. According to the Corporation 365,000 people are caught each year watching TV without permission, despite the ease with which detection may be evaded.