The TV licence fee could be scrapped after Conservative ministers unveiled new details of their plans to shake up broadcasting.
On April 28, a White Paper on broadcasting was published, warning that the £159-a-year levy may be “unsustainable”.
The TV licence fee has been extended until December 2027, as the Mirror reports, but this "will be the last", according to Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.
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Taking to Twitter in January, she wrote: “The days of the elderly being threatened with prison sentences and bailiffs knocking on doors are over. Time now to discuss and debate new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content."
Now the White Paper further suggests that the fee could be abolished as more people opt for streaming services.
It says there will be a “review of the licence fee funding model”, details of which will be set out in the coming months.
It adds: “An increasing number of households are choosing not to hold a TV licence, as fewer people choose to watch live TV or other activities that require a TV licence.
“Should this trend continue as expected there are clear challenges on the horizon to the sustainability of the licence fee.
“For example, if fewer households are required to hold a TV licence, and there is a desire to maintain the BBC ’s current level of funding, then the price of the licence fee would need to increase, potentially significantly.”
This comes as the licence fee has been frozen at £159 per year, forcing cuts for the BBC at a time of soaring inflation.
But what does all this mean for people to sitting at home?
Will the TV licence be scrapped?
A White Paper is simply a document where the Government sets out their proposals for future legislation.
This means that no bill has gone through parliament yet, in regards to abolishing the TV licence.
Currently, the TV licence fee has been extended for use up until 2027 - so it won't be axed before then.
What will happen after 2027 still needs to be voted on - and the next general election is expected to take place in 2024.
How much is the TV licence?
The TV licence costs £159 a year.
As TV Licensing explains: "Pay for your first licence by Direct Debit in six months, at around £26.50 a month. Then pay for the next one in monthly instalments of around £13.25. Make four Direct Debit payments throughout the year. If you pay this way, each payment will include a £1.25 charge."
The licence fee covered live or downloaded BBC programmes on TV and on iPlayer no matter if it's live, catch up or on demand.
What's happening with Channel 4?
Channel 4 has been a hot topic of discussion for Ms Dorries who claimed the channel’s current ownership model has "serious challenges" which restrict its growth.
She added anyone "choosing to dismiss them" is "burying their head in the sand”.
In a written statement, she said streaming services like Amazon Prime Video spent £779 million in 2020 on original productions in the UK, a figure she says is "twice as much as Channel Four".
In the White Paper published by the government, it also highlighted plans to privatise Channel 4 after 40 years of public ownership.
Channel 4 was set up by former PM Margaret Thatcher in 1982 and has always been publicly owned and is funded by advertising however the government still need to debate and pass the legislation that would make this officially happen.
With a string of Tory MPs and peers questioning the plans, opposition to the privatisation has been widespread.
Labour's shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell also spoke out against the plans arguing: "Selling off Channel Four in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis will leave voters scratching their heads about how this will help pay their bills. It will likely mean fewer British-made programmes for British audiences and less support for British jobs across the country."
Included in the White Paper are plans for Ofcom regulation for streaming services. This would introduce a new prominence regime for on-demand television, and more.
Ahead of the White Paper, Labour MP's claimed that Boris Johnson and his allies were "hell-bent on attacking this great British institution because they don’t like its journalism.”
The document also voices concerns over “disproportionate and unfair” criminal sanctions for people who refuse to pay the fee.
