Licence fee should be ditched, according to report

THE BBC licence fee and the corporation’s flagship channel BBC One should be scrapped, according to a new report.

The publication also claimed that the iPlayer will now become the most expensive online streaming service, if users, who must now pay the licence fee, do not engage with any other BBC products.

A loophole is being closed today which allowed people to watch BBC shows they had missed on live TV for free.

They will now risk prosecution and a £1,000 fine if they download or watch programmes on the iPlayer without a TV licence. The report, Licence to Kill: Funding the BBC, has been published by the right-wing think-tank the Centre for Policy Studies.

It claimed that removing “BBC services which are not distinct, (and) are already provided by its competitors... would save £1.8 billion - half the licence fee”.

It called for the closure of BBC One, Radio 1, Radio 2, local radio and BBC orchestras among other services.

The report criticised the Government for what it said was simply a “tweak” in the BBC charter review.

It said that the new set-up - designed to remain in place until 2027 - was “not sustainable” and that a full charter review should take place during the “midterm review” in 2021.

It said that the case for “radical changes to the BBC” to make it “much smaller” and “specialise in what no-one else can do... will become even more compelling over the next few years”.

A BBC spokesman said that the £145.50 licence fee was great value for money. “The recent government consultation on the future of the BBC showed huge support from the public for the BBC and what it does, with very few people wanting the BBC cut back,” the spokesman said.