‘They have to come up with another model’: For many the BBC licence fee increase is a bad joke
For those who’re on modest means, the cost of the licence fee going up by £5 on 1 April of all days is a bit of a bad joke.
Certainly, for residents at St Crispin Retirement Village, it’s hard to see the funny side.
Among them is 83-year-old Stan Fritton who, since last November, has been embroiled in a battle over how much he and his neighbours should be paying for the BBC.
Their accommodation coming under one roof, they previously paid £7.50 each, qualifying for an accommodation for residential care (ARC) licence.
They then turned a former storage room into one of two spaces for visitors to stay the night and were told by post they’d contravened the TV Licensing Act.
Letters demanding residents pay full price started turning up addressed to almost 100 of the residents.
Stan Fritton, 83
As Mr Fritton puts it they were “being sent to 95-year-old widows [who are] seeing something that says investigation with a big stamp and what have you… it’s frightened them to death.”
He says demands for payments have even been sent to those with dementia.
“They’re not listening and they’re choosing not to listen,” he says of interactions with TV Licensing.
While Mr Fritton says the retirement village’s managers have now shut the room and will be reapplying to get the licence back, he is adamant they haven’t broken any rules but can’t get an officer to come out to see that the room isn’t a dwelling.
Resignedly his main frustration is that: “They’re choosing to antagonise residents here needlessly.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for TV Licensing said they “continue to liaise with the managers of St Crispin’s… and hope to have this matter resolved as soon as possible.”
Price rises to £174.50
How the BBC collects its money is an issue that extends way beyond one retirement village.
Under the current BBC charter, prices will now rise for the next two years based on inflation. It was £169.50, from today it is now £174.50.
Of course, maybe that’s OK if we’re getting more of what the BBC does best but the corporation’s income is down £1bn a year in real terms compared to its funding in 2010.
Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky recently gave a written statement to parliament on how the second series of his acclaimed drama was very nearly canned because the financing in public service broadcasting is “insufficient to make high-end TV drama”.
The producer of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, Patrick Spence
‘I think we are in real trouble’
But it’s even a tough time for those public sector broadcasters who rely on advertising – the producer of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Patrick Spence, telling Sky News he wouldn’t even pitch the drama now in the current commissioning climate.
“I do want to say I think we need to pay the sub postmasters first before we then turn our attention to television – let’s get our priorities right – but yeah I think we are in real trouble – there is a form of British television story telling that is going down if it is not supported.”
While some reports have claimed the government is looking to find a way to put a levy on streaming services, the Department for Culture has previously said they “do not comment on speculation” – not ruling it out.
Former BBC News controller and government communications director, Sir Craig Oliver
‘Lots of people are saying it’s a very dated system’
As a former BBC News controller and government communications director, Sir Craig Oliver has seen licence fee negotiations from both sides.
He says: “I think everybody has come to the conclusion, including privately the BBC, that they have to come up with another model.
“I think that there will probably be some element of the licence fee still existing, but it may be that there are subscription models on top of that.
“The problem with all of that, of course, is that the devil is in the detail… how do you make sure that people aren’t hacking in? Lots of people are saying it’s a very dated system.”
This year the BBC says it’s launching its “biggest ever public engagement exercise so audiences can help… shape [the corporation]”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The public cares about the BBC… We want to continue to reform and evolve and look forward to engaging with government on the next Charter and securing the long-term future of the BBC.”
But with seemingly little or no consensus over how that future might be funded, the only certain thing for now is that it’ll mean households being switched on to licence fee prices going up this year, next year and the one after that.
The mother of Cassie Ventura has told a court she felt “physically sick” when her daughter told her Sean “Diddy” Combs had threatened to “release two explicit sex tapes” after discovering his long-time girlfriend was dating someone else.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, the seventh day of the trial, Regina Ventura said she did not initially understand the email Cassie sent her in December 2011, saying, “The sex tape threw me, [Diddy] was trying to hurt my daughter.”
The email said Combs was planning to release two explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt her and the man she was seeing, rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi.
Regina said the family took out a home equity loan and paid Diddy $20,000 to recoup money he had spent on Cassie “because he demanded it,” angry that Cassie was now dating Cudi.
She said the money was returned days later.
During her evidence, jurors were shown photographs of bruises on Cassie’s body Ms Ventura said were taken when her daughter returned home for Christmas in 2011.
Regina’s time on the stand was fairly brief, as the defence declined the opportunity to question her.
Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, who dated Cassie in 2011. Pic: Reuters
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 7 – As it happened
Prosecutors say Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, forced women to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs” from 2004 to 2024, facilitated by his large retinue of staff. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty.
The rapper faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs and Cassie pictured in 2015. Pic: Reuters
Last week, the prosecutors’ star witness, Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs for over a decade, spent four days giving evidence.
Combs’s legal team has sought to show jurors that his relationship with Ventura was complicated, and while they acknowledge he was an abusive partner, and had substance issues, they say the sex acts described by the prosecution were consensual.
Read more:
Everything you need to know about the Sean Combs trial
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
‘Diddy wanted our bodies to shine’
A male exotic dancer nicknamed “The Punisher” also gave testimony, telling jurors that in the autumn of 2012, Cassie contacted him asking him to “create a sexy, erotic scene” Diddy, and using the pseudonym “Janet”.
Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, aka The Punisher. Pic: Reuters
Sharay Hayes said he went on to have eight to 12 more encounters with the couple, having sex with Cassie, while Diddy watched from a distance.
He described the hotel rooms as routinely being dressed with electric candles and sheet-covered furniture, and says Cassie told him not to “acknowledge” her husband, and to “try not to look at him and no communication”.
He says Diddy would often wear a cap, and he could not see his face, but he later realised it was the famous rapper.
“The Punisher” mentioned using a “considerable amount of baby oil” during the performances, saying “[Diddy] wanted us to keep our bodies covered, to shine”.
He later described the acts as “a fetish type thing,” and while he said he believed Cassie was fully consensual, he also said he “did occasionally see her sigh or wince” and said she would frequently look at Diddy “for cues”.
Paid between $1,200 (£900) and $2,000 (£1.500) for each performance, he said he was not called back after struggling to get an erection during one encounter.
He said he never saw Diddy use drugs or saw filming during any of the performances.
Car park dispute with Suge Knight
David James, Diddy’s ex-personal assistant, also completed his evidence and testified that he never saw physical violence between Cassie and his former boss.
David James, Combs’s former assistant. Pic: Reuters
James, who worked for Diddy for two years, said he left Diddy’s employment after he realised his “life was in danger” following a dispute in a car park with rival record label owner Suge Knight, which culminated in Diddy bringing three handguns to try to find Knight and his entourage.
He also detailed an altercation between Diddy and his personal chef, Jourdan Atkinson, and said he refused to file a police report after Diddy told him to say “Chef Jourdan hit him first”.
The final person to give evidence was a special agent responsible for planning the March 2024 raids on Combs’s Miami home on Star Island.
Steve Gannon showed photos of items taken during the raid, including sex toys, high heels and loaded guns, and explained how an armoured vehicle was used to break down the mansion’s front gate to gain entry while the family was away on a trip.
Combs has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since September and faces at least 15 years or possibly life in prison if convicted.
The trial is set to last for around two months.
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