![]() ![]() They say it would be hard to evade, could be means tested so less well-off people pay less, and would be relatively easy to collect the money.In July, when On Sunset debuted at the top of the UK charts, Paul Weller achieved the remarkable feat of having a number one album in five consecutive decades. Could put households off signing up to internet connections or other phone contracts.Ī new ringfenced income tax to fund the BBC: Could be easily means tested but it would be “politically controversial” to add a new line to payslips for BBC funding.Ī universal council tax levy: Given an approving write-up by the House of Lords committee. A paywall would cut off large chunks of the public from the BBC, undermining the idea of a national broadcaster.Ī monthly BBC levy on broadband contracts: Dismissed as little improvement over the existing licence fee and hard to means test. Netflix-style subscription: Unlikely to produce enough money and technically challenging given the ongoing popularity of traditional television and radio channels. Possible models for replacing the licence fee – and the verdict of the House of Lords committeeĪdvertising-funded model: Would result in a “multibillion-pound reduction in income for the BBC” and would harm other commercial broadcasters such as ITV by taking away their advertising income. “The status quo is not an option.”Ī BBC spokesperson said the broadcaster was “open-minded” about the future of the licence fee. “We’re saying to the BBC that you have to prepare for transition,” she said. Stowell urged the BBC not to wait until the last minute and hope for a new funding model to emerge. The BBC’s licence fee income – £3.8bn a year – has also been hit hard by years of government-enforced freezes that have left the broadcaster having to make deep cuts. The overall number of households paying the licence fee has entered a steady decline in recent years. “I think we need to all get over that and say it’s not about that at all.” “For a lot of people there’s a lot of emotion invested in this and a fear that it’s driven by a political motive,” she said. Stowell said the public needed to understand that ending the licence fee and switching to a new funding model did not have to mean the end of the BBC as we know it. In recent years many other European countries including Sweden and Switzerland have abolished their television licence fee and moved to different funding models for their national broadcasters – including direct grants from government or introducing new household taxes. Those who do not pay face the risk of a criminal prosecution, with women disproportionately likely to face legal proceedings for non-payment – possibly because they are more likely to be at home in the day when inspectors call. The licence fee costs £159 a year and must be paid by every household in the UK that watches any live television channels or uses the BBC’s iPlayer service. Nevertheless, the committee urged the BBC and government to also look at a hybrid model – where high-end BBC drama is behind a paywall but news services are accessible to all. Other ideas, such as providing the BBC with billions of pounds of public funding directly from the government, were rejected because of the potential impact on the independence of the broadcaster. Niche public interest services would be likely to close and it would be technically challenging to put up a paywall around existing BBC television and radio channels. Lady Stowell’s committee concluded that commercial replacements of the licence fee, such as moving to a Netflix-style paid subscription or an advertising-supported model, would not produce enough money to fund the BBC in anything resembling its current form. ![]()
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