By Doug Gillon

ONE could not help but feel sorry for Peter Alliss the other day as he raged against the dying of the light. The 84-year-old veteran BBC golf commentator was understandably saddened and embarrassed by his employer's decision to end live coverage of The Open a year early, and hand over to Sky.

The Beeb has spent £1 billion on sport since the 2012 Olympics, yet simply can no longer afford The Open. Alliss confided that the cost of screening it exceeded that of a state funeral. He may not have been joking. I understand that the satellite company is paying at least 50 per cent more than the BBC, which has taken the decision to "ensure maximum choice and value for money for licence-fee payers", according to BBC director of sport Barbara Slater.

So next year those who decline to pay for Sky must settle for two hours of daily highlights as another doyen bites the dust. The BBC once had a near-monopoly of world-renowned commentators, the likes of Bill McLaren, Dan Maskell, Peter O'Sullevan, David Coleman, John Motson, Murray Walker, and Ritchie Benaud.

This does not just seem like the end of an era. It is. And if you want to comment on the revolution engulfing broadcasting, then you have just one day to do so. The BBC Charter is under review, and the public consultation period ends tomorrow. The charter expires at the end of next year.

Regardless of how you might feel about the futility of a single opinion, remember that everyone who pays a licence fee owns the BBC; certainly not the staff or politicians. Each member of the public has as much right to venture an opinion as Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, JK Rowling, Stephen Fry, Graham Norton, Michael Palin, David Attenborough and Jamie Oliver, all of whom signed a public letter urging that the Beeb should not become "a narrowly focused market-failure broadcaster ... a diminished BBC would simply mean a diminished Britain".

So speak up. You may, for example, have a view on the fact that The Open enjoys no protection under the UK's Code on Listed Events, a safety net for sport's so-called "crown jewels". Yet while we may feel we have a right to see The Open live on free-to-view TV (licence fee apart), consider that a sport governing body that is forced to stay with Auntie is handicapped in maximising income, affecting development and coaching (though not necessarily exposure). Live Sky coverage is unlikely to match BBC figures. Last year's Ryder Cup, for example, had nearly six million BBC viewers, some two million more than saw live action on pay TV.

Imagine the impact on rugby if the World Cup were protected. The world governing body reputedly earns 95 per cent of its income from the event.

It is perhaps miraculous, given the inflationary nature of the sports-rights market, that the BBC still accounted for 45 per cent of all TV sports viewing in the UK last year; or you might believe the BBC has enjoyed too many privileges for too long.

Alliss spoke of the "inevitability" of the decision, acknowledging the market had changed and there was little the BBC could do, though it retained a range of major sports events including Wimbledon to 2020, the next two football World Cups, Match of the Day to 2019, the Six Nations to 2021, and the next three Olympic Games.

It's fair to say that the 2,500 hours of programmes produced annually, locally, by BBC Scotland, and 12,500 hours of radio hardly represent failure. There are also the 4.7 million browsers who access the BBC Scotland website every week. UK-wide, the online presence is outstanding. So it should be, given its resources. But there is debate as to whether online is what the BBC should be about. There's a view that it is killing local print news media. Unfair competition? Print media is adapting to the challenge.

Another issue under consideration is extending the term of the Charter from 10 years to 11, to distance it from fixed-date general elections. The Beeb surely needs no additional political interference.

Not just sport, but the future of public service broadcasting is up for debate: the very rationale for the BBC's existence, its governance, and funding, including the future of the license fee. But like the rest of the world, the BBC must adapt or die.

Doug Gillon is a sports columnist with The Herald.

BBCCharterReviewConsultation@culture.gov.uk