Comedian Romesh Ranganathan was paid to appear in a recent BBC advertisement that encourages viewers to pay the £180 annual licence fee. The four-minute commercial, which aired for the first time during the World Cup Final, has drawn criticism from some viewers for its timing and content.
Ranganathan, 48, stated he felt "honoured to be asked to front it," days after it was reported that the BBC had lost half a million licence fee payers over the previous year amid various scandals. The BBC confirmed Ranganathan was paid for his participation due to the significant time commitment required during filming. The corporation declined to specify the amount paid.
"Creative development was done in-house, and the majority of people gave their time for free," a BBC spokesman said. "Like other broadcasters, we promote our services creatively to ensure audiences across the UK can get best value from the BBC."
The advertisement, titled "What Has The BBC Ever Done For Me?", featured nearly 100 notable figures, including Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Claudia Winkleman, Alan Carr, and Louis Theroux. In the ad, Ranganathan travels through various BBC programmes, sets, and studios, encountering the celebrities who contribute to answering the campaign's central question. At one point, Theroux appears near a large lever and remarks, "None of this exists if we don't want it to." Ranganathan is then presented with figures suggesting the BBC contributes over £6.5 billion to the economy.
However, some viewers expressed dissatisfaction with the ad's placement during the World Cup Final, citing the presence of on-screen QR codes and reminders to pay the licence fee. Social media reactions included comments such as: "Didn't think I would get threatened by Romesh and Louis Theroux to pay my TV licence – all I wanted was to watch a game of football," and "This desperate BBC ad is beyond nauseating." Another viewer questioned, "What did I just witness? BBC spending our money to tell us they're wonderful and we're ungrateful?" The ad was also described by one viewer as "shameless self-promotion?"
In a separate article for the BBC's website, titled "Why I had to make the case for our BBC," Ranganathan wrote about his strong belief in the BBC's existence. He acknowledged that the corporation is "not without its flaws" and has faced issues where he wished for different handling, but he maintained that it "adds so much to our lives, and I'm really proud of it."
This campaign comes as former Question Time presenter David Dimbleby criticized the BBC's decision to cut 550 jobs, calling it a "very bad call" and expressing dismay over the potential loss of political analysis.
