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September 7, 2009

Public backs under-fire BBC, says poll

By Helen Potter

An ICM poll sponsored by the Guardian has found that viewers and listeners still broadly back the BBC despite recent attack by James Murdoch, European chief executive of News International.

Murdoch criticised the BBC for being anti competitive and called it to be made “far, far smaller”.

However, the poll found that 77 per cent think the BBC is an institution people should be proud of despite it coming under fire in recent years after the Hutton inquiry and the scandal involving fake phone-in competitions.

Criticism has also come from politicians, sections of the national press and some rival companies over levels of executive and talent pay as well as the future of the licence fee.

A minority of respondents support the licence fee, 43 per cent. Some 24 per cent say advertising should pay for the BBC and 30 per cent believe there should be an optional subscription for BBC services.

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