Poll finds public support for an ad-funded BBC

Nearly two-thirds of viewers would prefer to see the BBC funded by

ads rather than by the licence fee.

In a NOP poll conducted exclusively for Marketing, 61% of people said

that they would be happy for the BBC to scrap the pounds 97 licence fee

and take the ad route.

John Hooper, chairman of the Incorporated Society of British

Advertisers, welcomed the results: ’Advertisers are paying too much

because of ITV’s monopoly. We’d like to have some access to advertising

on the BBC.’

A BBC spokeswoman said: ’The licence fee underpins our stability and

success.’

This week Envision, a consortium involving WPP companies led by DM

agency OgilvyOne, along with the Post Office and computer firm Bull, was

appointed to collect the licence fee.

Leader, page 3 and Media, page 12.

This article was first published on Marketing