Ad-Free BBC   

Thanks to Lori Robertson and Zenitha Prince for their very interesting article exploring the BBC as an alternative for U.S. viewers ("The British Invasion," December/January).

I would point out as a longtime BBC viewer and Web site reader that the salient enabling characteristic for the BBC is avoiding the tyranny of commercial advertising. This liberates its producers to offer what's generally "important" as opposed to being constrained by overnight ratings. Of course, given that ratings seem to go straight down when hard news is discussed on U.S. networks, maybe it's a further question of media literacy and apathy in the viewership, as well.

Kamalesh Thakker
Beverly Hills, California