Minister: BBC could end up defunct just like Blockbuster Video

THE first step towards scrapping the licence fee will be taken today – as a minister warns that the BBC could become as defunct as the Blockbuster video chain unless it moves with the times.

In a major statement of intent, Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan will unveil plans to decriminalise nonpayment, ending the controversial system that clogs up the courts and leads to some people being jailed.

The BBC opposes the move, which it warns will cost it £200million a year.

It comes after Boris Johnson said during the election campaign that he was ‘looking at’ scrapping the licence fee.

Government sources last night insisted ministers were not yet currently considering axing the £157.50 charge outright.

But writing in the Daily Mail today, Baroness Morgan warns the Corporation it could face the same fate as Blockbuster, which has disappeared from the high street after failing to keep pace with consumer demand.

‘It is clear that many people consider it an anachronism that you can be imprisoned effectively for not paying for your TV licence,’ she writes.

‘We need to think carefully about how the BBC ... can stay relevant in the years ahead.’

She also announces plans for a flexible payment plan to ease the burden on the over-75s, who now face having to pay following the BBC’s decision to renege on a deal with the Government to continue funding free licences.

Every household with a TV set has to buy a licence, whether or not they use BBC services.

Failure to pay can result in court action, leading to a fine of up to £1,000. Ultimately, those who fail to pay can face jail.

In 2018, more than 121,000 people were convicted and sentenced for licence fee evasion and issued with fines averaging £176. According to the Department for Digital, Media and Sport (DCMS), five people were jailed for an average of 19 days.

Last year there were about 26million active TV licences in the UK, generating an income of £3.69billion for the BBC.

Any move to decriminalise fee evasion will not come into effect until April 2022, according to the DCMS. A spokesman said: ‘The consultation does not ask for views on any other changes to the TV licence, and is clear decriminalisation of TV licence fee evasion would have an impact on BBC funding.

‘If the Government decides to take it forward, it will consider the impact of it in the context of the overall licence fee settlement, with negotiations beginning later this year.’

Last week, Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker said buying a licence should not be compulsory. He claimed if you made purchasing optional, ‘you would lose some people, but at the same time you’d up the price a bit’.

Julian Knight, newly elected Tory chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, said decriminalising the licence fee would mark ‘a significant shift in the broadcasting landscape, with major implications for the future of the BBC’.

He said: ‘With negotiations on its funding due to start later this year, there’s a need for an urgent and open conversation about how people consume media and how they should pay for it.’

Last night, a BBC spokesman said a review five years ago had rejected the case for change.

The spokesman added: ‘Of course it is important that any system commands public respect and we hope that any debate about the future is based on the evidence.

‘If there are changes, they must be fair to law-abiding licence fee payers and delivered in a way that doesn’t fundamentally undermine the BBC’s ability to deliver the services they love.’

‘Shift in the landscape’