This is a big year for the BBC as it marks the 100th anniversary of the first radio broadcast. That fact alone might be thought enough to focus Corporation minds on the anachronistic way in which it is funded, much as in 1922. Despite developments in communication since then, there is a belief in some quarters that the BBC should pretty much carry on as always, an untouchable national institution. But this position is unsustainable in the era of Netflix and Amazon streaming films and programmes to younger audiences, many of whom never watch television.

Everyone seems to understand this reality save the BBC. Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary, has effectively called time on the current public subsidy model by freezing the licence fee at £159 for the next two years. She also made clear that a compulsory levy on households for a public sector broadcaster was coming to an end should the Tories remain in office.

It has long been argued by the BBC that the licence fee is “the least bad mechanism” for funding a public service broadcaster which would be dumbed down by a move to subscription. Yet the new media behemoths often produce output of a higher quality than the BBC, which is replete with reality shows, games and quizzes that are not obviously in the public interest. Moreover, in order to function, the Corporation seems to require a bureaucracy of highly paid executives who seem to believe it is acceptable for poorer people to pay more to fund their inflated salaries.

The BBC fears the licence fee freeze will cost it millions of pounds. In which case it should do what everyone else has to do in straitened circumstances and make economies in its annual budget.