Why has the television licence fee gone up?
The BBC has been pleading for more funding from the government, and has been told it can increase the licence fee by £3 to £104 on April 1 – 1.5% above inflation. The BBC asked for £700m to safeguard its future as a public service broadcaster until the year 2007, but the government’s plans mean it will receive only £200m. The BBC currently receives £2.1bn in licence fee revenue. Why can’t the BBC manage on what it had before? It wanted additional funding to pay for digital expansion plans, but an industry backlash led to a refusal of the introduction of a £24 digital licence fee. The corporation is looking for money to help develop new and existing digital channels and internet services. A committee of inquiry with a remit of investigating alternative ways of funding the BBC, led by City economist Gavyn Davies, recommended viewers taking digital TV should pay a supplement to the licence fee on a sliding scale, from £1.99 a month from next April to 99p in 2006 and disappearing by 2010.
