>We pay around £50 / month for Sky. The value of the BBC is hereby evidenced.
Two differences come to mind. You can choose not to pay to Sky if you don't want it. Second, it's much harder from freeloaders to get Sky without paying- with the licence fee the honest are subsidising those viewers who are avoiding payment.
I'd much rather it be funded from general taxation- and that the budget be reduced. Some BBC shows are important to keep, eg radio 4 and some documentaries, but there are lots of programmes which could just as easily be done on commercial channels/SKy/BT etc