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The BBC licence fee could be scrapped and replaced with an £11-a-month internet charge under new plans being weighed up by Labour ministers.
The move would see the current £180 TV licence axed and an extra charge added onto broadband bills in its place.
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charge → see → place
It would see every household with an internet connection pay towards the BBC pot, even if no one living there watches live television.
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one → see → television
The proposal comes in a report by the Social Market Foundation think tank, who have investigated what could happen to BBC funding in the coming years.
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what → come → years
The SMF also suggested the broadcaster become a John Lewis-style mutual society, where 'members' could join a special council to hold BBC bosses accountable.
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bosses → suggest → council
It comes as 3.7 million households claim they don't need a licence because they don't watch live TV.
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they → come → TV
In 2025 alone, half a million UK homes stopped paying the fee, resulting in the BBC making £500million worth of cuts.
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BBC → stop → cuts
The report also warned that hit TV shows such as David Attenborough's Planet Earth or The Traitors could face the axe if reforms are not made.
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reforms → warn → axe
More than half of the 2,050 surveyed by the SMF feared Strictly Come Dancing could be cancelled if the broadcaster does not solve its growing funding issue.
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broadcaster → survey → issue
Hit shows such as Strictly Come Dancing (Pictured: Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis, and Johannes Radebe) and The Traitors face the axe if the BBC doesn't plug its funding black hole
Labour ministers are weighing up new plans to scrap the licence fee and replace it with a £11-a-month internet charge.
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ministers → picture → charge
BBC driector-general Matt Brittin (above) has called for a utility bill-style =household levy' instead
Meanwhile, around 63 per cent of all BBC content could vanish if licence fee funding was taken away, the report found.
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report → call → content
It said what was left could then be placed on another streaming service or behind a paywall.
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left → say → paywall
There are concerns poorer families may be hardest-hit by the change, but the SMF says a social tariff discount would be put in place to protect low-income homes.
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discount → be → homes
Another option being weighed up is a smaller 'News and Culture Levy' of £2.30 being added onto monthly internet bills while also keeping the licence fee.
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option → weigh → fee
Internet providers would also be compensated for the incurred costs of collecting the additional charges.
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providers → compensate → charges
The changes are set to be a central talking point at the BBC's next Royal Charter, which decides how the broadcaster is funded and governed for the next ten years.
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broadcaster → set → years
It comes as BBC bosses have repeatedly warned that thousands of jobs and several shows face the axe if the funding issues continue to worsen.
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issues → come → axe
In July, BBC Director-General Matt Brittin said he is pushing for a mandatory 'household levy' to replace the optional TV licence.
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he → say → licence
It was previously revealed that licence fee income had dropped by more than £1billion in real terms in the last decade.
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income → reveal → decade
Mr Brittin said the broadcaster is looking to recoup its finances, which are in 'an unpredictable but downward spiral.
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which → say → spiral
'
'We need universality, we need sufficiency,' he added.
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he → need → sufficiency
A household levy would mean everyone pays a mandatory fee to the BBC regardless of whether people watch or listen to its programmes.
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people → mean → programmes
The charge could be levied alongside utility bills, those backing the plan say, similarly to the German model known as the Rundfunkbeitrag.
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those → levy → Rundfunkbeitrag
German households pay a compulsory €18.36 per month (£15.70) to fund the nation's TV and radio.
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households → pay → TV
Mr Brittin, 57, previously argued for a possible household levy at the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee as part of the BBC charter review.
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Brittin → argue → review
'It's very, very hard to run an organisation that can attract the best creative, journalistic and technical people if you're going to have to cut costs every year,' he said.
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he → run → costs
The new Director-General has previously described the licence fee model as a 'busted flush' which is 'no longer fit for purpose'.
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which → describe → purpose
Mr Brittin also floated the idea of introducing a 'streaming levy', which would expand the scope of the licence fee to include anyone who watches content on Netflix, YouTube, TikTok or other types of internet video streaming.
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who → float → streaming
He suggested MPs consider possible concessions for young people and low-income households in paying the fee.
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MPs → suggest → fee
'The BBC is being held back by the straitjacket of the licence fee mechanism.
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BBC → hold → mechanism
It's a model that ties us to the past when audiences are already living in the future,' Mr Brittin said.
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Brittin → tie → future
'So, we urgently need a solution
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we → need → solution
that will provide sustainable, sufficient and universal funding
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that → provide → funding
A DCMS spokesperson said: 'The BBC must be funded by a model that is sustainable and fair to all those that are paying it.
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that → say → it
Through Charter Review, we are looking at a range of options, including how the BBC can operate more efficiently, generate more commercial revenue, and how the licence fee could be reformed.'
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fee → look → revenue
It is understood decisions regarding BBC funding will be set out in an upcoming White Paper.
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decisions → understand → Paper
The Aporia
