:: the BBC is paid for by TV license holders, not the government."
: My error. I do understand that the government actually complains that the BBC is biased.
: I admit that I don't know the British media that well, but I have been led to believe that
: there are not many independent sources for news in the UK.

The BBC gets a minority of TV viewers in the UK. A large minority, but the independent channels have been more popular for many years. (Probably not for news programmes, though - BBC news and current affairs has deteriorated since they privatized so much of their programme making but most people still find it better).

The BBC does better at radio. There is no national private network to compete with it, and all the independent local radio stations come across as a bit amateurish in comparison.

One bit of the BBC is paid for by the government - the World Service. I don't suppose Voice of America has to depend on advertising either.