Culture minister claims public cannot be asked to fund generous increases
John Whittingdale has indicated that it is unlikely the BBC will receive generous annual rises in the licence fee over the next charter period.
At a Voice of the Listener & Viewer (VLV) event today (20 May), the culture minister said the government is unlikely to ask the public to pay more following the pandemic, although no decision has been taken.
“We have to keep in mind that this is a compulsory tax that people are required to pay to fund the BBC,” he said. “We can’t ask people to pay more at this difficult financial time.”
Enders Analysis has forecasted that in order to fulfil its ambitions, the BBC would require the licence fee to rise by rate of inflation plus 2 but Broadcast understands that a rise in line with inflation is likely to be the best case scenario.
The licence fee, which generates around £4bn for the BBC, has risen in line with inflation since 2015 but remained static between 2010 and 2015.
“It is a very well-funded broadcaster,” said Whittingdale. “The BBC benefits from huge revenues.”
C4 sale
Elsewhere, Whittingdale suggested that the government may look to strengthen C4’s remit as part of any sales process, as the landscape has changed significantly from when it was set up.
“There is no question in my mind that Channel 4 is going to remain a public service broadcaster,” he said. “The current wealth of content means that its remit may well need to evolve.”
One potential outcome of a sale would be freeing C4 up to borrow money – something it is currently prevented from doing.
“All broadcasters need to be able to invest in content to be able to hold onto their viewers” he said.
No comments yet