The BBC licence fee is out of date and should be scrapped, a new report claims.
This latest attack on the £169.50 fee makes the case for changing the broadcaster into a subscription service like Netflix or Disney+.
Former culture secretary Sir John Whittingdale welcomed the report from the Defund the BBC campaign group, saying: “It is plain that the compulsory licence fee model cannot be sustained for much longer and that we need to begin the debate now about the role of the BBC going forward and how best to fund it.”
The Government has pledged to consider funding options with the BBC’s present Royal Charter period ending in 2027.
The report warns “traditional broadcast media is rapidly becoming obsolete with precipitous falls in consumption between generati ons.”
It claims the broadcaster has “lurched from failure to scandal in a seemingly unending cycle of mistakes and problems” and that public support “is a long way from its rose-tinted heyday.”
Instead of yoking “the taxpayer to the unjust licence fee and continuing decline”, it suggests the BBC should be freed to “compete effectively with its broadcast and streaming rivals”.
Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Common Sense group of Conservative MPs, suggested the BBC could be facing an “adapt or die” moment.
Rebecca Ryan, campaign director of Defund the BBC, said: “Continuing with the tired status quo of the licence fee is not an option. It is simply not fit for purpose in this age of streaming platforms and subscription services.
“The BBC has clearly become complacent in its failures, knowing that Government and the taxpayer are still forced to keep the bloated organisation stumbling on. Ending the safety net of the licence fee and forcing it to compete as a commercial enterprise will ensure that it is brought back to the standards that it was created to represent.”
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A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC is the most used media brand in the UK, BBC iPlayer is the country’s fastest growing streaming service, and more than 80% of adults use the BBC on average each week.
“The public cares about the BBC and this year, we will launch our biggest ever public engagement exercise so audiences can help drive and shape what they want from a universal and independent BBC in the future. We want to continue to reform and evolve and look forward to engaging with government on the next Charter and securing the long term future of the BBC.”
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media & Sport said: “As the Culture Secretary has made clear, the BBC is an important national institution that plays a key role in British life.”
