The BBC TV Licence could be hiked from £180 to £191 for some households next year. The BBC licence fee could soar to £191 due to the inflationary shock from the US-Israeli war with Iran.
It would make the TV licence the second most expensive in Europe. The Bank of England has warned that a spike in energy prices due to the continuing Middle East conflict could see inflation hit 6.2 per cent next year.
The cost already rose by £5.50 in April this year but could go up by £11 next year. Media analyst Alex DeGroote said: “There is no way that a 6.2 per cent level of fee increase would be supported by the UK public in these times. The simple answer is more cost-cutting at BBC.”
The licence fee model was conceived at a time of linear viewing – watching programmes at the time of broadcast. Changes in viewing habits, such as a move to video-on-demand, and the growth of new technologies, has resulted in the model being challenged.
Only some households would need to pay the £191 fee if it materialises, with Pension Credit households given free licences, and a black-and-white one costing a fraction of the full colour cost.
A DCMS spokesperson said: “We have launched the charter review to explore ways that the BBC can have a sustainable funding model that supports its vital work, but which is also fair to those who pay for it. We are currently reviewing responses to the public consultation and will set out our decisions in a future White Paper.”
A BBC source said the broadcaster was “open to offering more concessions to support affordability” and the “possibility that more radical reform could involve more households paying, but each paying less”.
In a written ministerial statement of 29 November 2024, Labour Party MP Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said the government was committed to upholding the licence fee until the end of the charter period.
