Millions of people who don’t currently pay the £180 licence fee because they only watch streaming TV would be drawn into paying the charge under BBC plans.
Some 3.6m households now say they don’t need a TV licence because they don’t watch the BBC or any “live” programmes online. The number of non-payers rose by 300,00 last year.
But the BBC is looking to overhaul its funding model as a result of declining income and has suggested extending the licence fee to anyone streaming content on Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple and YouTube, whether the programming is live or on-demand.
Viewers who do not pay the licence fee would see content blocked on streaming services under the plans.
The BBC says the rules covering the type of viewing that requires a licence are outdated and confusing.
In its response to a government consultation on the BBC’s future, the broadcaster says it faces “managed decline” unless it can close a growing gap between the number of people who use BBC services and those actually paying for it.
The BBC also says the Government should consider extending the licence fee to anyone streaming content on Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple and YouTube, whether the programming is live or on-demand.
The annual licence fee could be reduced if the BBC can increase the numbers paying to a “universal” level, the broadcaster suggests.
But increasing the scope of a charge, which more people are refusing to pay each year, would prove highly controversial.
Who has to pay now?
You need a TV Licence if you watch or record live TV on any channel or service or use BBC iPlayer, including watching back The Traitors.
A licence is needed if you live stream the latest series, news or sport online, from services like ITVX, Sky Go, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Netflix and Freely.
The BBC admits non-payment of the TV licence is rising faster than predicted (Photo: Getty).You do not need a TV Licence to watch on-demand programmes on streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus or videos on YouTube.
The BBC says the definition of “licensable” TV should be changed: “The precise set of rules that require households to be licensed no longer reflect typical audience behaviour among many households in the UK.”
Who could be required to pay?
The BBC believes many people watching programmes broadcast “live” on streaming platforms don’t realise they need a licence.
Anyone watching Champions League Football live on Amazon Prime or Premiership games on TNT Sports needs a TV licence. Netflix is advancing into live programming – in January it streamed live American climber Alex Honnold’s ascent of a Taiwan skyscraper.
The BBC is also targeting viewers of ITVX and Channel 4’s streaming service. ITVX has 40m registered users and has racked up 10bn views, with I’m a Celebrity..its most viewed show. Channel 4 is the UK’s fastest-growing streamer and is the most popular among the hard-to-reach 16-34 age audience.
The BBC says ITV and Channel 4 are failing to tell viewers they need a licence to watch any programmes live online. “While this is an increasingly common behaviour, it is not widely understood by their audiences, and there is little or no effort made by the services in question to inform them.”
I’m a Celebrity and hit Channel 4 shows like Bake Off and Gogglebox could be streamed alongside BBC shows on the iPlayer, with advertising sold around the commercial channel programmes, the BBC has suggested.
The BBC estimates that around 80 per cent of evading households use iPlayer but fewer than 5 per cent of those only use iPlayer.
Converting the 3.6m households who say they don’t need a licence into payers would boost the BBC’s coffers by £650m a year.
Subscription streamers targeted
The BBC believes the scope of the licence fee could be extended to include other programming on Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple and YouTube.
“On-demand consumption is not licensable, unless it is BBC content consumed via iPlayer,” the BBC said, noting “inconsistencies” in the current system.
Currently 7 in 10 people (70 per cent) have a streaming subscription service, around 20.6 million households. Netflix is the most popular streaming service in the UK, with 3 in 5 households subscribed or 18 million homes.
Netflix is moving into live TV programming – which means UK subscribers need a TV licence (Getty)Amazon Prime Video is the second most-popular with 13.8m subscribers whilst Disney has 7.8 million. Many people subscribe to more than one platform with a large amount of crossover with current BBC licence fee payers.
YouTube is used by 48m adults each week, recent figures suggest, double the current number of registered licence fee paying households – 23.8 million.
Many students and younger viewers claim they only watch Netflix and YouTube so bringing those platforms under the scope of the licence fee would solve the BBC’s evasion and non-payment issue – which cost the broadcaster £1.1bn last year – at a stroke.
How could the new system be enforced?
The BBC would use digital methods instead of relying on letters and the threat of home visits by TV Licensing.
In the first instance, the BBC suggests “pop up warnings around the need for a licence as seen on iPlayer.”
The ultimate sanction would be “harder verification tools to block licensable content to non-licence holders.”
When would any changes begin?
The BBC needs the Government to agree any major changes to the scope of the licence fee. They would be introduced from 2028, when the BBC’s new Royal Charter comes into effect.
The DCMS has ruled out replacing the licence fee with a household levy or a new tax. But it could look more favourably on BBC proposals to extend its reach.
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A Whitehall source said: “We are looking at a range of options to support the BBC with sustainable and fair funding, including how the BBC can operate more efficiently, generate more commercial revenue, and how the licence fee could be reformed including the scope of services for which a TV licence is required.”
Rival broadcasters are likely to challenge BBC demands to tell their users to pay the TV licence. One industry source said: “I don’t think the other Public Service Broadcasters see it as their role to promote the BBC’s funding mechanism.”
A DCMS spokesperson said: “We welcome the BBC’s response to the public consultation. We will review and consider their response, alongside the views of the public and other stakeholders, to inform decisions for the next Royal Charter.”
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