Influential Lords committee says BBC must consider alternatives to the licence fee
Faced with rapid changes in the media landscape, the BBC must “set out a bold new plan for its future, including options to reform the licence fee”, ranging from a compulsory household levy to a voluntary monthly subscription, it said.
Each option “merits serious attention,” the committee said, adding that the BBC will also need to expand its commercial operations. “We are calling for it to be open minded about exploring more ambitious commercial options, such as domestic or international hybrid subscription services,” it said. A universal household levy – a mandatory “TV tax” whether viewers watched the BBC or not – “could offer a viable alternative to the licence fee,” it added, which would need to be means-tested to make it “fairer” than the current model.
The BBC could offer a “premium top-up” service under which it would continue to provide a full range of genres including entertainment and drama, it said, but suggested that over time its more expensive content, including high-end drama, “could be put behind a paywall”.
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