BBC TV licence fee set to rise by £5.50 to £180 a year
The TV licence fee will rise by £5.50 to £180 a year in a bid to 'help keep the BBC on a stable financial footing', the Government said today in another cost-of-living blow.Viewers reacted with fury after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) revealed the 3.12 per cent rise from £174.50 would come into force from April 1. The new licence fee is higher than the streaming fee for Netflix in the UK, which costs between £5.99 and £12.99 a month, equating to £71.88 to £155.88 a year.Prime Video costs £8.99 per month or £95 a year as part of an Amazon subscription; while Disney+ is £5.99 to £14.99 a month, the equivalent of £71.88 to £149.90 a year.The cheapest annual cost of subscribing to Netflix, Prime and Disney+ combined is now £238.76 a year - which is only £58.76 or 33 per cent more than the licence fee. The hike was calculated using the annualised average of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate from October 2024 to September 2025, which was 3.14 per cent. Viewers flooded social media with anger at the rise as some claimed they simply would not pay, while Reform UK MP Lee Anderson said: 'The BBC has a death wish. He told the Daily Mail: 'With families facing soaring bills and taxes, it is indefensible to demand more money for an institutionally biased BBC. Reform UK would overhaul a national broadcaster that is clearly unsustainable in its current form.'Senior Conservative MP Nigel Huddleston, the shadow culture secretary, added: 'It is increasingly difficult to see how the BBC can justify any rise in the licence fee when serious questions remain over its impartiality and governance. BBC Broadcasting House in London. The BBC said today that it 'will only be able to deliver for the public if it has a sustainable long-term funding model in place, and that means reform''At a time when households are under real financial pressure from Labour's economic mismanagement, asking people to pay more for a service that is losing trust is simply not credible. Pushing through another increase will only accelerate this decline. 'Instead of demanding more from struggling families, the BBC should be focusing on getting its house in order.'News of the price increase comes after the BBC was revealed to have lost more than £1billion in a year as a record one in eight households refused to pay the fee. How the BBC licence fee compares to streaming costs Licence fee (from April 1): £180.00Amazon Prime: £8.99/month or £95/yearDisney+: Standard with Ads: £5.99/month; Standard: £9.99/month or £99.90/year; Premium: £14.99/month or £149.90/yearNetflix: Standard with Ads: £5.99/month (equ £71.88/year); Standard: £12.99/month (equ £155.88/year); Premium: £18.99/month (equ £227.88/year). In 2022, the BBC and the previous Conservative government struck a deal to keep the licence fee frozen at £159 for two years. It was also agreed the fee - which must be paid to watch live television or iPlayer - would be linked to inflation until at least 2027.When the agreement was reached, the fee was projected to cost less than £175 by the final year of the deal. However, high inflation later caused the fee to be reviewed.In November 2024, the Labour Government announced it would rise from £169.50 to £174.50 from April 2025. The BBC raked in £3.8billion from the fee in 2024/2025. But the future of the licence fee has come under scrutiny amid a sharp decline in the number of people watching traditional TV channels as viewers continue to turn to streaming services such as Netflix and Prime.The number of licences bought decreased from 24.1million to 23.8million in 2024/25, with the drop hitting the BBC's income in real terms.The DCMS said today that the £5.50 increase in the fee, which is the predominant method of funding for the BBC, would give the corporation 'stable financial footing to deliver for audiences and support the wider creative industries'.The cost is rising 'in line with inflation' as required by the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement, the department said, adding the fee will also rise again in line with CPI inflation in April 2027.A DCMS statement said: 'The Government recognises the financial pressures on households and is committed to ensuring the BBC's funding model is sustainable, fair and affordable.'The Government has committed to the licence fee for the remainder of this charter period.'To support the public with the cost of the TV licence, we will also continue to support the simple payment plan to spread payments through smaller instalments. 'Free licences remain available for over-75s on pension credit, with reduced fees for care home residents and blind individuals.'The annual cost of a black and white TV licence will rise by £2 from £58.50 to £60.50 for 2026/27.It comes as the Government continues the Charter Review Green Paper public consultation on options for BBC future funding.Welsh language channel S4C, which receives all its public funding from the licence fee, will see revenue increase proportionately.S4C will receive about £100million in 2026/27, which the DCMS says will 'support the growth of the Welsh creative industries'.Meanwhile reports last week suggested the BBC is working on ways to use its iPlayer streaming service to find households that have not paid for a TV licence.The move could see up to 40million online BBC accounts linked with home addresses for the first time to find households that are accessing the BBC without a licence.Any household that watches or records live TV on any channel or uses BBC iPlayer must have a TV licence.Anyone wishing to access BBC television and radio programmes on iPlayer must provide an email address, date of birth and postcode.It is understood the BBC is now working on ways to use this data to identify where TV licences have not been purchased. The TV licence fee is to rise by £5.50 from £174.50 to £180 from April 1, the Government saidThe BBC has a duty to collect the licence fee, and sends targeted letters or emails to those it believes are not paying it and should be.There are concessions available for people who are aged 75 or older and receive pension credit, blind people, those who live in qualifying residential care and are disabled or over 60, and businesses that provide overnight accommodation.Failing to pay the fee can result in a £1,000 fine.The BBC collected £3.8billion from sales of more than 23million TV licences in 2024/25, but around £550 million is thought to have been lost through evasion.Just over 25,000 people were handed a fine in the year ending 2024, down from 35,813 the year before.A BBC spokesperson said: 'The licence fee ensures the BBC has the financial stability it needs to deliver for audiences and support the creative industries across the UK.'It funds the full range of BBC services and helps us deliver trusted news, the best homegrown storytelling, and unmissable content that brings people together.'The Government is currently considering the BBC's next Royal Charter and future funding arrangements beyond 2027.'We welcome this debate and have been clear we want reform so we can continue to deliver a public service BBC that is independent, sustainably funded for the long-term, and meets audience needs for generations to come.'
