New BBC boss pushes for new universal ‘household levy’ to replace licence fee – which all would have to pay whether they watch channels or not
JAKE HOLDEN
The new BBC boss has said he is pushing for a mandatory ‘household levy’ to replace the optional TV licence, as numbers paying the fee have plummeted.
Director-general Matt Brittin said he was ‘open to all options’ to fund the broadcasting giant after it was revealed that licence fee income has dropped by more than £1billion in real terms in the last decade.
Half a million people stopped paying their licence in the 2025/26 financial year, so the broadcaster is looking to recoup its finances, which Mr Brittin said are in ‘an unpredictable but downward spiral.’
‘We need universality, we need sufficiency,’ he added.
A household levy would mean everyone pays a mandatory fee to the BBC regardless of whether people watch or listen to its programmes. The charge could be levied alongside utility bills, proponents of the idea say.
Germany funds its equivalent of the BBC in this way – households pay a compulsory €18.36 per month (£15.70) to fund the nation’s TV and radio.
Mr Brittin, 57, argued for a possible introduction of a household levy at the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee as part of the BBC charter review.
He said: ‘It’s very, very hard to run an organisation that can attract the best creative, journalistic and technical people if you’re going to have to cut costs every year’.
The new director-general has previously described the licence fee model as a ‘busted flush’ which is ‘no longer fit for purpose’.
The licence fee price has gone up to £180 a year from April 1, up from £174.50.
But the hike in price appears not to be sufficient, as Mr Brittin floated the idea of introducing a ‘streaming levy’, which would expand the scope of the licence fee to include anyone who watches content on Netflix, YouTube, TikTok or other types of internet video streaming.
But he did tell MPs last week about the ‘appealing’ possibility of concessions for young people and low-income households in paying the fee.
However, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said ‘no decisions’ had been made on introducing the levy earlier this month.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I think there are different ways of doing a household levy. But every time I have a discussion about the BBC licence fee, if an option is put to me, people assume if I don’t rule it out that the Government has some kind of secret plot to introduce it.
‘I can tell you, hand on heart, that we have made no decisions about this.
‘We’re talking to the BBC about it. We’re also about to go out, as part of the charter process, and consult with the public. We’re determined to get this right.
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If a household levy was introduced and 100 per cent of households are made to pay – as currently around only 80 per cent pay for a licence – the price could be reduced for users and it would save the BBC hundreds of millions in collection and enforcement costs.
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(UKR)