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The Agora => UK & World News => Topic started by: Maik on Monday, 02 March, 2015 @ 11:09:10

Title: BBC licence fee to end?
Post by: Maik on Monday, 02 March, 2015 @ 11:09:10
Quote
End of the licence fee: BBC to back radical overhaul of how Corporation is funded

The BBC will back a radical overhaul of the licence fee, paving the way for the end of the current system of funding the state broadcaster, the Corporation’s head, Tony Hall, is expected to say today.

In a speech to staff at Broadcasting House, Lord Hall is expected to indicate the Corporation’s backing for a broadcasting levy that would apply to every household, regardless of whether they have a television.

Last week the parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee said the £145.50 annual licence fee should ultimately be replaced by a German-style “broadcasting levy” that would apply to every household. The change would allow the BBC to collect funds from the estimated 500,000 households which claim not to have a television or only watch programmes on-demand through platforms like the BBC iPlayer.

The system, introduced in Germany in 2013, would do away with the need to detect and prosecute those who avoid buying a TV licence. It is estimated that licence-fee collection costs £120m, with the BBC losing £250m to those who evade paying the charge.

MPs believe the earliest that a levy could be introduced in the UK would be 2026.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/end-of-the-licence-fee-bbc-to-back-radical-overhaul-of-how-it-is-funded-10078945.html