The "licensing" has a point because it does make the BBC more impartial since the current government cannot adjust their funding down or up depending on their programming.

However, the same aim could be achieved by just setting a formula in law. 1 pound per british citizen, or 0.0001% of the average income per citizen last year. Numbers pulled out of ass as i have no idea what an UK tv license costs. As long as they make the formula extremely hard to change, it will work.