To people answering this question: yes we know the BBC is publicly funded. That's great. But it's not particularly helpful. Why is the BBC publicly funded? What is the difference between the BBC and say, PBS? Was there debate in Britain at the time of the BBC's foundation about the funding model? Have there been significant attempts to privatise it? Please go into more depth than a singe sentence.

It might be helpful if you gave an idea of what differences you're thinking about.