BBC TV Licence crackdown as millions of letters warning of £1,000 fine sent across UK
As the BBC continues to crack down on Brits not having a TV Licence, millions of households have received a warning letter about a potential £1,000 fine if theyfail to get one.
According to GB News, in comparison to the previous year, the corporation has sent out nearly 13 per cent more letters this year to households. The number of letters sent out each year has consistently risen, with nearly 41million letters being sent between 2023 and 2024 - significantly higher than the 36 million sent the previous year.
This comes as many Brits are planning to scrap their BBC TV Licence to avoid the rising price of the initial fee. Brits currently pay £169.50 for the licence, which is around £14 a month on direct debit. However, it is set to rise to £174.50 later this year.
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The letters sent out by the BBC typically warn households who do not hold a TV licence but are still watching live TV - either directly on the channels or via streaming apps - or using BBC iPlayer that they could potentially be fined up to £1,000. This increase in letters could be due to the corporation's latest financial figures revealing an £80million drop in its licence fee revenues.
The number of people continuing to pay the licence has reportedly dropped from 24.4million households in 2023 to 23.9million in April 2024. Despite the drop off, the BBC's annual report shows that they managed to make more than £3.6billion in revenue last year. However, this is a major drop compared to figures from 2010 and 2011, where the licence fee generated 30 per cent more income.
Joanna Marchong, from the Taxpayer's Alliance, said: "Taxpayers are sick of being asked to cough up for the archaic TV tax. As their revenues plummet and more and more tune out, they’re showing their desperation by sending out this many letters and even suggesting forcing Netflix users to pay the licence fee."
The biggest group to be moving away from the BBC is those aged between 16 and 24 years old. In 2017, the viewership at that age group was 82 per cent, but this has dropped to 54 per cent in 2022. Additionally, the BBC One's weekly reach has also fallen to 58 per cent, which is 12 per cent lower than 2017.
Marchong added: "If the BBC wants people to stop changing the channel they need to begin to modernise their funding model."
Last month, we told you that the UK Government was considering alternative funding models for the BBC, including extending the licence fee to those who only use streaming apps like Netflix and don't watch live TV.
A spokesperson from the BBC has responded to the rise in letters being sent to households, stating: "TV Licensing has a responsibility to support the collection of the licence fee by communicating with unlicensed households. These letters generate more funds than they cost to send, so more money can be spent on programmes and services.”
They also clarified that the amount of letters sent does not equate to the number of households that receive them. They added: "These numbers refer to letters sent by TV Licensing, not to the number of addresses mailed. It should be noted that unlicensed addresses will usually receive more than one letter before being visited."
However, the spokesperson has emphasised that the main reason behind the letters is to make households aware of the different ways they can pay for the licence if they are struggling for money, rather than them only being sent as a final warning.
