On December 14, 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched an urgent review into the possibility of decriminalising non-payment of the TV licence fee- an idea that had been suggested earlier, in 2014, by Sajid Javid, the Culture Secretary at the time. This move appears to provide a clear signal to the BBC, the primary beneficiary of the licence fee, of possible future changes to the ways in which the organisation will be funded.
The BBC was established as the British Broadcasting Company, a private corporation, in 1922. It was replaced in 1927 by a public corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation. Regular TV broadcasting commenced from Broadcasting House in London on August 22 1932. The BBC held a monopoly on TV broadcasting in the United Kingdom from the very beginning, until the Television Act of 1954 paved the way for commercial television. As such, the BBC is both the oldest international broadcasting organisation, as well as being the world’s largest broadcaster, with close to 23,000 employees. The BBC brand has gained an iconic and global reputation over the years, and has pioneered in many areas, such as the introduction of colour television, 3D channels and HD channels, among several other innovations.
Despite this overwhelming presence, the BBC’s future funding has recently been brought into question. As a public corporation, the BBC is not allowed to undertake any commercial activities of its own. During 2018-19, around 75 per cent of the total income of the BBC thus came from the TV licence fee. This equates to the sum of £3.6 billion. There are currently around 25.8 million TV licence holders in the UK, who continue to contribute to this large sum of money, apart from a small proportion of government-funded concessions. The remainder of the BBC’s income comes from commercial activities undertaken by its subsidiary companies- such as BBC Studios, BBC Studioworks and BBC Global News-which help reduce the financial burden on the licence fee payer.
The TV licence fee was introduced on June 1 1946 to coincide with the post-war resumption of TV broadcasting, and amounted initially to £2 a year for a monochrome single-channel BBC TV. This licence was issued by the regulator of public communications in the UK at the time-the General Post Office. Since then, the licence fee has steadily risen to the current sum of £154.50 for a coloured TV licence, or £52 for a black-and-white TV licence. There are concessions for the over-75s, introduced by Chancellor Gordon Brown in 1999, and for the blind. The government-funded over-75s TV Licence Scheme is scheduled to be replaced on June 1 2020 by funding provided directly by the BBC Board, at a cost of around £250 million a year.
Over 90 per cent of the licence fee is used to fund BBC TV channels, radio stations, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC’s online services. A part of the remaining sum is used to fund the Welsh-language channel S4C.
A valid TV licence is required to be able to watch, download or record all live TV programmes, irrespective of channel, as well to watch or download BBC programmes on its own catch-up service, BBC iPlayer. Even if a person does not actually own a television set, a TV licence is still required for watching BBC iPlayer programmes on a smartphone, tablet, computer or other device. However, a TV licence is not required to watch on-demand or catch-up programmes through streaming services like Netflix or YouTube. This is particularly relevant, as younger people continue to gravitate away from traditional television towards such services.
In 2012, TV Licensing, an arm of the BBC, subcontracted Capita Business Services, for a period of eight years, to oversee the collection, administration and enforcement services associated with the licensing process. This enforcement is mainly achieved through a national database, which identifies unlicensed addresses. The role and modus operandi of TV licence detection vans remains unclear.
A particular concern is that, unlike utility bills and parking fines, the non-payment of TV licences is currently regarded as a criminal offence, rather than as a civil debt. The legal basis for this is provided by the Communications Act of 2003 and the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations of 2004. This overtly harsh policy means that non-payment of TV licence fees can lead to criminal prosecution, a court appearance, the issuing of a fine of up to £1,000, in addition to court costs, as well as showing up on the prosecuted individual’s subsequent criminal record checks. While there is no prescribed prison term attached to the offence, theoretically an offender can be jailed by the court system for refusing to pay any costs that may have been incurred as part of the court appearance.
The debate centres around the relevance of a public service broadcaster in an increasingly digital era. In addition, the BBC has suffered from a reputational crisis in recent years. The organisation has been widely criticised by politicians from all parts of the political spectrum of systematic and institutional bias in its reporting of both domestic and international news events. Furthermore, accusations of ageism, sexism (including a gender pay gap), over-inflated pay packets for senior presenters and reporters, and far-too-generous severance packages for senior executives have all dented its image in an era of austerity. Many also see it as an “establishment institution”, with a more than fair share of the products of public school and Oxbridge education to be found among its senior employees.
The TV licence fee is guaranteed until 2027, under the terms of the BBC’s current Royal Charter, although the amount at which it has been set is open to negotiation in 2022. While the BBC has, over the years, produced many outstanding news stories, documentaries, dramas, comedies, films, games shows, sports items and children’s programmes, the jury is out as to whether most people are still willing to directly fund its services at a time when many claim not to watch any BBC programmes at all, for whatever reason. We await further developments on the political front, hopefully guided by changes in the ways people continue to engage with the broadcasting media.
Ashis Banerjee (more inclined to watch YouTube)