The BBC's license fee has been scrapped since 2028 because the Tories suggest it is 'unsustainable'.

 

Tory ministers have unveiled new details about their commitment to abolish the £ 159 license fee at the end of the current term on December 31, 2027 - with a white paper explaining why it is not 'sustainable'. 

Tory ministers this week unveiled new details of their plans that could eliminate the BBC's license fee from 2028.

A white paper was published yesterday, warning that the 9 159-year levy could be "unsustainable."

The fee was extended until December 31, 2027, but Culture Secretary Nadine Doris warned that the announcement would be "final".

He tweeted in January: "Gone are the days of elders being jailed and threatening to knock on the bailiff's door.

"It's time to discuss new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content."

Now the government has published its white paper in which it has stopped the reduction of fees and further said that it will be abolished.

It says a "license fee funding model" will be reviewed, with details to be announced in the coming months.

The BBC will have to find money from other models (Photo: Supa Images / Light Rocket by Getty Images)

It added: "A growing number of households are choosing not to have a TV license, as very few people choose to watch live TV or other activities that require a TV license.

Should this trend continue as expected? There are clear challenges on the horizon for the sustainability of license fees.

"For example, if fewer households need to have a TV license, and want to maintain the BBC's current level of funding, the cost of the license fee could potentially increase significantly."

Angered by the Tory announcement before the White Paper, Labor claimed that Boris Johnson and his allies were "bent on attacking this great British institution because they do not like its journalism."

The document also raises concerns about "disproportionate and unfair" criminal sanctions for those who refuse to pay fees.

Licensing fees for the BBC are already being frozen at £ 159 for two years in the face of rising inflation.

The White Paper also details the government's plans to privatize Channel 4 after 40 years of public ownership.

Ms Doris claimed that there were "serious challenges" to the channel's current proprietary model, which hindered its development.

He added that anyone "choosing to dismiss them" was "burying their heads in the sand".

In a written statement, it said streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video had spent 9 779 million on actual productions in the UK in 2020, a figure that it said was "twice that of Channel Four".

Channel 4, founded in 1982 by former Tory PM Margaret Thatcher, has always been publicly owned and financed by advertising.

There has been widespread opposition to privatization, with Tory MPs and colleagues questioning the plan.

 

Tags:

BBC license fee, bbc license fee goons, bbc license fee advert, bbc license fee explained, bbc license fee axed, bbc license fee review, bbc license fee ending, bbc license fee 2021, bbc license fee explained, bbc license fee referendum, bbc license fee cost, bbc license fee news, bbc license fee freeze, bbc license fee reddit, bbc license fee revenue, bbc license fee amount, bbc license fee decriminalisation, bbc license fee how much, bbc license fee review, bbc license fee for over 75, bbc licence fee, bbc license fee goons, cancel bbc licence fee, news, bbc, licence fee