"Dirty, filthy little money makers..." Sorry if I prodded a nerve there. In fact, that ascribes to me (by implication) views that I've never held. I sell product here on this site, and co-ran a successful small business for many years. Much of my life has been occupied with freelance work of one sort or another, so I'm all for making money. I'm perfectly comfortable with free markets, but I don't take a doctrinaire view with respect to them, and don't see anything wrong with governments getting involved if the result is to the general good. I am not a Libertarian.

My defence of the BBC is pragmatically-based. It's good value for money. If an independent media group can provide a similarly broad range of content of equivalent high quality, without adverts, for 125 quid a year, then bring them on.

The reference to "an already over-thin UK advertising market" has some relevance here, as it does explain the creeping meretriciousness in the output of much of the independent broadcast and print media.

The comment about taxi-drivers is not analogous and has no bearing on this discussion, nor has the one about "government" schools.

That's my last contribution to this thread, and we'll have to agree to differ :)