Currently, anyone who uses a television to watch content must pay the licence fee even if they do not watch the BBC. Under the proposed changes it would be expanded to cover all other online providers, such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, YouTube, which are currently exempt.

The Whitehall source explained that the move was “because people are able to use them to avoid paying currently”. They added: “It’s not fair that people are essentially able to watch television content but avoid the licence fee.”

Why would the BBC be allowed to collect money on services it does not provide? This is basically saying "everyone must pay this fee, or unplug their internet".

At that point, you might as well just take it from the government budget.

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[–] 28 points 2 days ago (9 children)

As a vocal supporter of the BBC (yes even with all it's many, many flaws) and am in favour in principal of the license fee, I don't think this is an appropriate way to fill the black hole in their finances.

It should in fact just become part of general taxation as that's the only way to make it fair. Even if you don't consume their content, it provides a national service, it projects soft power abroad, it's a primary news source for more than half a billion people and if that's worth anything (in my view it is) then it should come out of the central budget.

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  • [–] 17 points 2 days ago (5 children)

    As a vocal critic of the BBC, it should be defunded. It projects transphobic and zionist propaganda internationally, through heavily biased and manipulative reporting.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 days ago (3 children)

    That's mostly BBC news to be fair. Wouldn't a change in management be just as effective at tackling those problems? Genuine question. The BBC used to be a left wing bastion.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 day ago* (1 child)

    Zionism yes, the trans and queerphobia is across it all. They’re cancelling lots of LGBT content, censoring t-shirts, doing JK Rowling documentaries, etc.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 day ago*

    Cancelling lots of LGBT content

    The production company that owns Drag Race decided they wanted to vastly increase the tariff in the next contract despite the BBC having to find half a billion in savings. The show now moves to that production company’s own streaming service. This is the story often when the BBC commissions a hit show from an indie - look at Bake-off as an example.

    However, the production company (which specialises on the LGBT market) and a few others decided to make a fuss in their own interest about it because of course they would. Fact is, the BBC is cancelling a lot of content across the board, including relatively inexpensive things like You and Yours. Even the Archers is having severe budget cuts.

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  • [–] [S] 15 points 2 days ago (2 children)

    Personally I actually think this is more reasonable. If you're going to go as far as to charge everyone for it, you might as well do it means-based and have to compete with other funding.

    The only problem with this is it potentially gives less independence from the government, which means that they will become even less critical of their agenda, and may lose more credibility.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    The top two layers are literally stacked with Tories, it's already biased as hell (I've posted peer reviewed papers on here previously that's fact not opinion).

    Changing the funding model doesn't affect that.

    Changes to remove overt bias can be done regardless of funding.

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  • And further to that I note an article in today's Guardian referencing a Reuters article (I'll dig that out and update with it if I can find it)

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/16/uk-outlier-europe-farage-politicians-present-tv-shows-gb-news

    "However, an international study has confirmed that the UK’s decision to allow politicians to present such shows is highly unusual across Europe. In 35 of the 37 European nations studied, regulators found no recent examples of serving politicians presenting news or current affairs programmes"

    "The study, by an academic from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism for the Demos thinktank, will be used as evidence by critics who believe that Ofcom, Britain’s media regulator, has failed to protect impartiality by allowing the politician-led shows."

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