UK households who subscribe to Netflix and Disney Plus may face an extra fee of up to £174.50 under new plans.
The UK government is reportedly exploring new measures to expand the TV licence fee in a bid to safeguard the future of the BBC.
One proposal that is under review is to introduce a fee for non-live viewing for the first time, in a move that would affect thousands of people who use streaming services.
If implemented, the plan would force Netflix and Disney Plus users to pay for a TV licence which will cost £174.50 from April this year.
Other options being considered include allowing the BBC to use advertising, creating a standalone fee for streaming services, or asking BBC Radio listeners to pay, sources told Bloomberg.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said in November that streaming services and changing viewing habits have posed real challenges for the BBC, but she insisted she is committed to upholding the licence fee until at least 2027, when a review of the BBC’s Royal Charter is due. This will involve a public consultation about the BBC’s future and means any changes are unlikely to be implemented before then.
Currently, a TV licence costs £169.50 per year but it is going up from April, adding an extra £5, or 42p per month, to household bills. The fee applies to any household that watches or records live TV on any channel or service, or uses BBC iPlayer, but if you’re aged 75 or over and are claiming Pension Credit, you can get a TV Licence completely free.
If you don’t meet the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit there are other ways to reduce the cost of your TV licence bill, or avoid it altogether.
TV licences are per household, not per person, so if you live in a house with several people you don’t all need to have one in some cases and could all chip in to share the cost of one licence.
You can share a TV licence among the whole household if you watch TV in a single shared area, or have a joint tenancy agreement. But if you have separate tenancy agreements and watch TV in your own room then you will need to pay for your own.
You also don’t need a TV licence to watch streaming services, such as Netflix and Disney Plus, on-demand TV through services like All 4 and Amazon Prime Video, videos on websites such as YouTube, or DVDs and Blurays.
So if you’re happy to just stick to watching any of these, and not watch or record any live TV or BBC iPlayer, you can save yourself £174.50. But if you do watch or record live TV without a valid TV licence then you can be issued a fine of up to £1,000.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We want everyone to get value from the BBC, which is why we’re focused on delivering what audiences want from us – trusted news, the best homegrown storytelling and the moments that bring us together.
“The public cares about the BBC and this year, we will launch our biggest ever public engagement exercise so audiences can help drive and shape what they want from a universal and independent BBC in the future.
“We look forward to engaging with government on the next Charter and securing the long term future of the BBC.”
