Talking of wasting money, everyone knows the BBC waste more money than most, so much so ITV doesn't think they deserve the 2.3% licence fee rise that they have asked for. The Beeb wants the government to boost the licence fee by 2.3% over and above inflationary rises. But a new report published by ITV says that there is no justification for any increases over inflation.
Releasing his report, ITV boss Charles Allen accused the Beeb of relying on badly thought out financials in making their claim for a bigger licence fee. He told reporters: "The BBC's back-of-a-fag-packet figures should come with their own health warning. This report represents a thorough economic analysis of the impact of the BBC's proposed licence fee increase and it is damning in its conclusions."
The report says that by raising the licence fee above the rate of inflation low income households in particular will lose out. It also argues that, given general economic growth in the UK, the BBC shouldn't need extra licence fee money to expand its digital operations - expansions which the Beeb frequently says it needs the extra cash for.