BBC Digital Licence Fee Would Not Breach EU Rules

An additional licence fee for digital television services would not breach EU regulations. A spokesperson for the European Commission denied reports earlier this week that proposals backed by the BBC to charge an extra £24 supplement for digital TV would breach state aid regulations.

Stefan Rating, competition spokesman for the European Commission, said that it was not proposing to write a warning letter to the British government, as the Financial Times had claimed. He said the commission had received a letter from an unnamed private television operator complaining about recommendations from the Gavyn Davies’ Funding Review Panel which favoured a supplement to fund digital services (see Digital Licence Fee Could Be £24).

The European Commission has had no objections to the BBC’s previous digital plans, Rating said. The BBC news service, News 24, which was funded using licence fee money despite being only available to cable, satellite and digital subscribers and not therefore totally fulfilling its public service remit, has met no opposition from Brussels. Similar services in Germany and Portugal were also approved by the commission.

European Commission: 0171 973 1992