BBC Requests Increased Licence Fee For Digital Britain
The BBC has outlined its case for a new licence fee settlement, calling for an increase of RPI plus 2.3% a year from April 2007, taking the total cost per household to £150.50 by 2013, compared with the current cost of £126.50.
The increase, the Corporation claims, will help deliver the move to a fully digital Britain, moving the nation’s broadcasting services towards more choice and originality available to all, irrespective of age or income.
Amongst the BBC’s plans for a digital future, are broadcasts to mobile devices and via broadband. The Corporation also plans to make all public service content available free of charge for up to seven days after first transmission, most likely using its iMP or MyBBCplayer software which is currently at the trial stage (see BBC Enters Second Phase Of Web TV Trial).
The BBC has also pledged to open its archives and invest in High Definition TV to “ensure it is available to all,” a move which will probably be made using the Corporation’s free-to-air satellite service, recently announced in collaboration with ITV (see ITV To Join BBC In Launch Of Free Satellite Service).
The new pricing will be decided upon by the Government next year as part of the charter renewal process. However, the BBC states that the new licence fee total does not include the cost of targeted help for special groups when digital switchover occurs between 2008 and 2012.
In outlining its proposal the BBC was clear to trumpet its own successes in reducing costs and meeting the majority of its funding requirements without the need for the licence fee.
“The BBC will meet more than 70% of [these costs] itself, not from additional licence fee funds,” a statement issued this morning reads.
“Self-help measures already underway at the BBC, including job losses, rationalising processes and commercial disposals and dividends. These will contribute £3.9 billion, leaving a funding gap of £1.6 billion which could be closed by an RPI +1.8% settlement. However, to meet costs related to switchover, such as the marketing costs of DigitalUK (SwitchCo) and spectrum tax, the total increase needed is a further RPI +0.5%, taking the total to RPI +2.3%.”
Launching the proposal, BBC director general Mark Thompson said: “Our audiences, rightly, have very high expectations of the BBC. They themselves are driving incredible change by the way they want to access our programmes and services.
“The BBC needs to transform itself to ensure we are providing the very best content, accessible to and valued by everyone across Britain, and the licence fee will help us achieve our vision to be the best creative digital broadcaster and content provider for audiences in the world.”
BBC chairman Michael Grade added: “This bid has been thoroughly and independently scrutinised by the Governors. We commend it to Government as an efficient business plan designed to meet licence payers’ expectations at the lowest cost.”
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