TV licence fee breaks through £150 barrier

THE TV licence fee is set to exceed £150 for the first time, prompting calls for the BBC to find new ways of funding itself.

With the annual fee pegged to inflation for the next four years, it will rise by £3.50 to £150.50 from April 1, the Government announced yesterday.

Critics have branded the funding model outdated and question whether the new fee represents value for money compared with streaming services.

A basic subscription to Netflix costs £5.99 a month, or about £72 a year, while Amazon Prime Video is £7.99 a month, or £79 a year.

The news of the licence fee increase comes just weeks after experts warned that the Corporation could spend ‘tens of millions of pounds’ of taxpayers’ money on improving pay equality. BBC insiders said that up to 120 female staff were ‘edging’ towards a major court battle if the BBC did not start paying them fairly.

John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Another hike in the licence fee is the last thing people need right now.

‘Given the recent revelations of grossly inflated pay, it’s clear auntie needs to shed a few pounds rather than be handed more cash. We’re frequently told by the BBC’s top brass that they provide great value for money, so they shouldn’t object to doing away with this hated tax altogether and moving to a subscription model.’

Last night, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the licence fee is an ‘outdated way of funding television programmes’ and the BBC should introduce a ‘variety of streams of income’. He suggests a fee for the iPlayer, advertising on the BBC website and product placement in programmes. He said: ‘The special system for the BBC is just a tax, and it actually harms the BBC because the BBC cannot grow its revenues to the same degree as Netflix and BSkyB can because it doesn’t have the freedom to do so. They think the licence fee is good for them, but in fact it is a trap that is holding the BBC back.

‘To pay £150 a year to be force-fed propaganda in favour of the European Union is a bit much,’ he added.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘The level of the licence fee is set by Government, and is lower than it was 25 years ago, taking into account inflation. For £2.89 a week the BBC provides nine TV stations, ten national and 40 local radio stations, one of the UK’s most popular websites, and BBC iPlayer.’