LONDON — The battle between the U.K. government and the BBC stepped up Wednesday when the culture secretary announced a review of the way the corporation is funded.
Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan said in a speech at the Policy Exchange think tank that the government would look at decriminalizing non-payment of the license fee that every household must currently pay if they watch TV or use the BBC’s online streaming services. Morgan announced an eight-week consultation on the issue.
She said there were “legitimate concerns” about whether the criminal sanctions “remain relevant in this changing media landscape,” and suggested that they could be replaced with a fine for non-payment.
“The license fee will remain in place for this charter period which ends in December 2027. However, we must all be open-minded about the future of the license fee beyond this point,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the BBC had to change to stay relevant and accountable in the modern age, and that it faced fierce competition from global companies such as Netflix and Amazon. She added that there was need for a broader review of the state of public service broadcasting in the U.K.
No. 10 officials have accused the broadcaster of bias and have for weeks boycotted BBC shows.
“These are not easy issues and they will require some honest and, at times, difficult conversations,” she said. “But there is a George Orwell quote etched onto the wall of BBC Broadcasting House that says: ‘If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’”
Morgan faced a barrage of questions over whether the move represents a major attack on the BBC. The announcement follows months of hostility between Downing Street and the broadcaster, which peaked during December’s election campaign, when presenter Andrew Neil broadcast a long rebuke of Boris Johnson for ducking an interview with him.
No. 10 officials have accused the broadcaster of bias and have for weeks boycotted BBC Radio 4’s flagship “Today” program, among other shows.
Johnson first suggested in December that he wanted to abolish the license fee. The model has come under scrutiny following the government’s controversial decision last year to scrap free TV licenses for those over the age of 75. The government blames the BBC for not choosing to pay for those free licenses itself.
Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan | Pool photo by Paul Ellis via Getty Images
The license fee generated £3.69 billion in income for the broadcaster last year.
Morgan also faced questions about tense relations between the government and Westminster-based political journalists, known as “the lobby.” Senior journalists walked out of a briefing on Monday after reporters from some outlets were refused entry.
Morgan said that “there has always been a system of technical briefings on technical issues” and that the two sides should sit down and repair relations.