The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has rejected plans for the introduction of an extra charge to the licence fee to help fund the BBC’s digital services. The MPs on the Committee were responding to the independent funding review panel, chaired by economist Gavyn Davies, which proposed that digital TV viewers pay an extra £24 for their television licence fee (see Digital Licence Fee Could Be £24).
The Committee said that a top-up digital fee would “bear most heavily on the disadvantaged in society,” adding that the BBC had so far failed to make the case for extra funding for its digital channels, which include News 24. The opinion of the MPs is that it is “difficult to discern the justification for News 24 in view of its huge costs and small audience.”
The Committee’s report praises BBC Online, the Corporation’s internet services, and suggests that extra revenue could be gained by opening the venture up to advertising.
The BBC says it is disappointed with the findings of the Committee, but the report has been welcomed by commercial broadcasters ITV and BSkyB, both of which are against the introduction of a digital licence fee.
ITV chief executive, Richard Eyre, says: “The BBC has an annual income from the licence fee alone of £2.2 billion and has not begun to persuade the public of a case for extra funding. We believe there is scope for more investment on programmes and services for the benefit of the public from within the BBC’s existing budget. It’s a question of priorities.”
Tony Ball, chief executive of BSkyB added: “The case outlined by the Committee is clear. The tax is unfair because it forces customers to pay for minority BBC digital channels which they may not want. It is unnecessary, given the BBC’s wasteful use of its vast resources.”
The BBC’s director of corporate affairs, Colin Browne, is quoted on BBC Online as saying: “We wish the Committee had looked in more depth at how the interests of viewers and listeners in the United Kingdom can best be served in a future likely to be dominated by pay television from global operators.”
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