The BBC licence fee 'could be scrapped and replaced with a subscription service'
16 February 2020, 13:38 | Updated: 16 February 2020, 14:58
It could mean the end of the controversial annual charge... which will increase to £157.50 per household this year.
The BBC could scrap its licence fee and a subscription service put in place instead, said senior aides to No10 according to The Sunday Times. In what could be the biggest shake-up in British broadcasting yet, some of its television and radio channels could face the axe along with major changes on the BBC's website.
READ MORE: Refusal to pay BBC licence fee could be decriminalised
Aides to the Prime Minister have insisted that they are “not bluffing” about changing the BBC’s funding model and “pruning” its reach into people’s homes according to the paper.
The news comes just a matter of a few weeks after the BBC announced on 3 February that the licence fee would increase in price from 1 April 2020 to £157.70 a year.
The corporation has recently also faced a huge backlash after they decided to scrap free licences for over 75s - affecting 3.7million pensioners and meaning that from 1 June 2020, if they do not receive Pension Credit they will need to pay for the licence in full.
READ MORE: BBC could be forced to sell radio stations in 'massive pruning back'
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson is apparently "strident" on the BBC being reformed and to stop its highly paid stars from cashing in from jobs outside of the cooperation.
“It’s an outrage that people who make their profile at public expense should seek to give themselves further financial rewards and personal gain,” one source told the newspaper.
“They’re basically making their names on the taxpayer and cashing in. The BBC should immediately halt this practice and give the money to good causes.”
READ MORE: BBC News to be 'reshaped' - with 450 job losses
