bazwillrun
You actually make a valid point. Up until September 1955, there was only the BBC - so the licence fee made perfect sense.
However, in today's digital multi-channel world, you could argue that the BBC has an unfair advantage in that it has a guaranteed revenue stream from the licence.
Problem is - if you took away that licence and the BBC became a subscription channel, we would all lose out.
This is why - there is no subscription based channel in the UK which doesn't rely on advertising.
If the BBC were to change it's business model and started competiting for advertising revenue with the commercial channels, we would lose anything that wasn't geared towards maximum audiences.
BBC Sport would suddenly become a paid for channel, and the number of quality dramas would decrease.
If you've ever had a look at American telly, you'd see what I mean.
Oh, and another thing - with no public service remit, the BBC would be free to lean even further to the left!!!