The ABCs " popularity" is because they have a captive audience in the the bush.
In the cities, I would imagine it's audience would be you and one other climate change fanatic.
In this era of available internet, I fail to see why we need a taxpayer funded broadcaster. $1.3 billion a year totally wasted. This money would better be spent on hospitals, schools and universities. These are far more laudable activities.
The days when the country needed a propaganda unit are long gone.
The NPR in the USA is an outstanding broadcaster. It is largely self funded. If you get a chance listen to them and they are left wing.
Just as Medibank has been successfully floated, so should the ABC be. Let the taxpayer get some return from that investment and also save us $1.3 billion per annum. There's no reason to expect that the ABC will change it's political bias after it's been privatized. And for the record, nor would I wish it to.
