News Summary

• The annual £180 licensing fee, which is free for over 75s and discounted for visually impaired viewers, is the BBC’s main funding model.
• UK residents must pay if they watch live broadcasting and on-demand content on a television, even if they don’t watch titles from the BBC itself.
• A Whitehall source says the idea was put forward ‘because people are able to use them to avoid paying currently’ As the situation currently stands, the license fee remains at £180 per year, but neither the UK government nor the BBC has said whether this charge will increase if the proposed changes were to roll out.