Four in ten British adults support the current system of funding the BBC, however, just as many oppose it, according to a poll by ComRes on behalf of the Whitehouse Company.
The BBC Funding Poll revealed that 40% of the UK oppose the current licence fee system, with over a third (36%) of Britons in favour of abolishing it completely and introducing a subscription fee paid only by those who want to access the BBC.
Of the four potential models tested, the one which gained the most support is getting rid of the licence fee and making the BBC fund itself, even if that means adverts during programmes, reducing the number of original programmes the Corporation can produce or scrapping its public service broadcasting duty (51% support, 34% oppose).
The least popular option for funding the BBC is to abolish the licence fee and increase taxes, with just 18% supporting the proposal and 64% opposing it.
The highest level of support for the current way of funding comes from Britons aged 65+ (52%). The poll also discovered a clear pattern of difference by social grade, with those in social grade AB (50%) and C1 (44%) more likely to support the current system than those in C2 (30%) and DE (33%).
Conversely, abolishing the licence fee and making the BBC fund itself was particularly popular among C2s (59%) and DEs (58%), compared to ABs (41%) and C1s (47%).
Currently, anyone who watches or records traditional BBC TV broadcasts must pay the licence fee, however this excludes the Corporation’s online VOD platform, BBC iPlayer.
However, earlier this year, the BBC’s director general, Tony Hall, said that the licence fee should be extended to include people watching content via iPlayer and that there is “room for monetisation so that the fee applies to the consumption of BBC TV programmes, whether live on BBC One or on-demand via the iPlayer.”
The £145 licence fee is due for renewal in 2016.
(Social grades explained)
