The corporation has been under pressure for years, but its response to the coronavirus outbreak represents a statement of values that commercial broadcasters cannot match
Boris Johnson’s special adviser Dominic Cummings has expressed a desire to “whack” the BBC. Nicky Morgan, until recently the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, compared the broadcaster to the defunct video rental chain Blockbuster and has spoken wistfully about the possibility of the
BBC moving towards a Netflix-style voluntary subscription funding model. A combination of Johnson’s large majority and widespread disquiet about the BBC’s recent political coverage seemed to open a clear route towards the creation of a radically different, significantly diminished public broadcaster.
But we have arrived abruptly in a different era. From our new perspective, adrift in the most significant public health crisis of our age, those days feel suddenly distant. There are new, more urgent questions. Would market forces offer religious services on local radio stations across the country? Or virtual gallery tours and musical and
comedy performances? Would
Netflix launch extensive additional educational programming to help children unable to attend school to keep up with their studies? Would
Amazon dig into its massive archive of sport, arts and drama content to offer prime cuts to a quarantined population?