Oh, they're not in the least naive. They're simply as left-wing as it's possible to get in any western society. One of our right-wing pundits frequently refers to them as "Bloody British Communists.
This is strictly a money making ploy by the network to increase viewers.
Therein lies the supreme irony. They don't need to raise their viewing figures to increase revenue. In fact, comercially, they don't make a nickel. Anyone with a TV set here is compelled, by law, to pay the BBC an annual license fee of around $200. Doesn't matter whether you watch any BBC channel or not. Even if you disabled your TV such that it was incapable of receiving BBC channels, you still pay the fee - or a $2,000 fine if you don't.
And, yes I know, it doesn't get crazier than that!
Which is why we must keep Hellarry as inconsequential as possible,...PBS/NPR much $$$$$$ already
It's anyone with a set now? I spent about 1.5 years in the U.K. in '91 - '92, and it was anyone with an antenna then. I had to pay the bill twice, as my stay spanned two billing periods. Oh, well, at least I didn't get billed for Maggie's Poll Tax. Some of the people working with me did, and they had a tough time proving that they were U.S. citizens.