Tessa Blasts BBC for being TOO GOOD

We need to investigate the the extent to which the cost of other broadcasters are driven by the BBC.
"If the BBC came in at a lower level of talent, creativity and innovation, to what extent would that reduce costs for other broadcasters? To what extent does the BBC make the market?"
Tessa Jowell, giving evidence to the Lords select committee on the BBC charter renewal, puts forward the laughable argument that maybe the corporation ought to try being less good.
Its all that talent, creativity and innnovation the BBC keep doing. It makes it harder for the other broadcasters when the BBC keep making these incredibly popular shows you see.
This argument centres round the revelation that Radio 2 presenters, including Terry Wogan and Johnathan Ross, are paid upwards of half a million pounds a year.
Tessa then went on to invite the BBC's rivals, private companies Sky and ITV, to come over to her place next month and have a pop at their more respected and successful rival.
The Blairite mantra that the market must always be a better model than the public sector is yet again exposed as nonsense. The BBC grow and nurture talent, invest properly in staff and programme-making, and reap the results.
Its nonsense for the government to seriously argue that if the BBC tried a bit harder to be a bit less good, then suddenly Johnathan Ross would be worth a mere 20 grand a year instead of 530, 000.
It was revealed today that Ross is being courted by Channel 4, at a price no doubt exceeding 530k. The same Channel 4 who are the only mainstream broadcaster to grow their market share in recent times.
The same Channel 4 who pinched Paul O'Grady from ITV, paying top whack for talent that draws viewers.
Perhaps what Tessa should be telling ITV and Sky is that their shareholders should take less dividends and concentrate on spending money on talent, creativity and innovation.
If Channel 4 can succeed in this marketplace, so can Sky and ITV.
Channel 4 by the way does not have shareholders. It is still a publicly-owned company, set up to provide a platform for alternative voices.
It was the first TV company in the world to buy all its content from other producers, leading to the creation of our diverse and world-class independent production sector. It challenges and pushes the BBC to do better and to be even more innovative. This how a market place works.
I guess Blairite ministers like Tessa will never be able to accept that sometimes in the market place the public sector can hold its own.