I hope I’m wrong, but the latest set of cuts proposed by the BBC seem simply another act of self-flagellation enacted to keep the current licence fee arrangement in place.

First there was Jonathan Ross, arguably its biggest star, banned for several months for an ill-judged telephone prank, then finally hounded out of the corporation. He became too big for the Beeb, which prefers its stars be bland and inoffensive, not Brand and offensive.

Now director-general Mark Thompson has today announced plans to close the 6 Music and Asian Network radio stations, halve (halve!) its web output, curb spending on foreign shows such as Mad Men by 20 per cent, as well as capping investment in sports coverage. This, Thompson says, will free up £600 million a year to be reinvested into programme making. It will also, suggests the Guardian, affect up to 600 staff and freelancers.

Now, I must come clean in saying I’m a big fan of 6 Music – in fact, it’s one of the reasons I bought a digital radio in the first place. Surely the interests of a large percentage of the population are covered by Mad Men/Heroes/any quality US show/BBC websites/sports/6 Music… you see where I’m going with this. Thompson talks about “the interests of the licence payer”, but I’m not entirely convinced.

This seems more a case of being seen to be doing something drastic for the sake of being seen to be doing something drastic. This can then be served up on a plate, with a side serving of humble pie, the next time the government – whoever that may be – looks at the licence fee tender and thinks, “Gosh, this is a rather eccentric arrangement.” Eccentric it may be, but how else could such a wonderfully eclectic, inclusive and truly representative output be created? That is the BBC’s strength.

I, for one, would happily sacrifice an Eastenders special or two for the sake of having a wide array of high-quality, multi-media coverage at my fingertips. And, if we want to be emotive about it, for the sake of those 600 staff and freelancers’ jobs too. But, as I said earlier, I hope I’m wrong.