BBC may charge viewers extra for drama and sport
BBC viewers could be forced to pay for “premium” content such as drama and sport amid concerns that the corporation can no longer be “all things to all people”. John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, suggested that the corporation had become too big.
BBC viewers could be forced to pay for “premium” content such as drama and sport amid concerns the corporation can no longer be “all things to all people”, the Government has announced.
John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, suggested the corporation has become too big and should be “narrower and more focused” to help cut the price of the TV licence.
Under one proposal, announced in a consultation paper yesterday, the licence fee could be used to pay for “core” TV services while viewers could pay a subscription for more expensive content. Other proposals include a universal household levy, under which every household would pay for the BBC subject to concessions.
Mr Whittingdale said that the corporation will eventually need to consider whether the licence fee becomes pure- ly subscription based like Netflix. Popular shows like The Voice could be axed because the corporation is becoming “overly commercial”.
The corporation hit back within minutes of the publication of the green paper. In a statement, the BBC said: “We believe that this green paper would appear to herald a much diminished, less popular, BBC. It is important that we hear what the public want. It should be for the public to decide whether programmes like Strictly or
Bake Off, or stations like Radio 1 or 2, should continue.”
Setting out the terms of the review, Mr Whittingdale said the process would consider both the “mixture and quality” of the programmes broadcast by the BBC as well as the way they are pro- duced. He said: “One key task is to assess whether the idea of universality still holds water. With so much more choice in what to consume and how to consume it, we must at least question whether the BBC should try to be all things to all people, to serve everyone across every platform, or if it should have a more precisely-targeted mission. The upcoming charter review will look at whether the scale and scope of the BBC is right for the current and future media environment and delivers what audiences are willing to pay for.”
Mr Whittingdale told MPs there was no “easy solution” to the problem of funding the BBC.
The current £145.50 licence fee was “regressive” because it was charged at the same rate on every household with a TV set, he said. And he acknowledged that increasing numbers of younger viewers were accessing the BBC via the internet and the corporation’s iPlayer service, for which no licence fee is required. This was “perfectly legal” but the Government was committed to updating the legislation.
The Charter review will look at whether the BBC’s current range of services “best serves licence fee payers”, said the Culture Secretary.
He cited the BBC’s Olympic coverage and “world-beating dramas” as examples of why the corporation remained “cherished and admired”.
But he said the corporation had grown to become “the largest public service broadcaster in the world” and there was concern that public funding should not undermine commercial TV, radio and online rivals.