A podcast episode from The Guardian's Today in Focus features media critic Mark Lawson discussing the BBC's funding crisis with host Nosheen Iqbal, following new director general Matt Brittin's warning that the broadcaster faces "real jeopardy" due to a faster-than-expected decline in licence fee payments. The discussion comes as the BBC launches a rebooted advertising campaign defending its value to the public, highlighting growing concerns about the sustainability of its current funding model in an increasingly competitive media landscape.

The episode notes that the BBC recently aired an updated version of a 40-year-old advert, in which comedian Romesh Ranganathan plays a disgruntled licence fee payer asking "What has the BBC ever done for me?", before some of the broadcaster's biggest stars respond by making the case for its continued public funding. Lawson and Iqbal explore how the corporation arrived at this funding crisis and examine the alternatives available to it as it seeks to secure its future.