I will bite
OK, assume that you are right and most people like the content on the BBC then most people would pay to watch it (they do with the licence...) thus you could fund the bbc from all those who love it just by getting them to payperview or pay a subscription. Thus you dont need a licence at all!
Second the lowest common denominator argument does not hold water at all, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, various other companies and brands exist and are profitable from NOT offering lowest anything.
If the bbc chose they could very easily take an approach to provide payperview or subscription, perhaps even a number of channels or types of program to suit both those with no brain cells to stir, those who like science, those who enjoy engineering, those who want properly researched news (the bbc would need to change its journalistic staff for that) and even those weird folk who like 'the arts'.
Above all it means that I could choose what to watch and what to pay for instead of either being forced to not have TV or (worse) to pay my hard earned so that some crass and stupid individual can be paid millions a year to mess up reading someone elses script (think of all the stars) or even more perversely get paid a fortune so they can demand to have helicopters or chauffeured transport while they touch up other peoples sons and daughters.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
