Secretary of State for Culture Nadine Dorries said it’s time to debate ‘new ways of funding’
The UK government has announced a freeze on the BBC’s funding for the next two years and a likely end date for the country’s license fee, a move that will force the broadcaster to make more cuts.
Culture minister Nadine Dorries said on Sunday that the standard obligatory fee for a TV license, which helps to fund the BBC, will remain at its current level of £159 (nearly $220) until 2024. It will then rise slightly for the next three years and is likely to be scrapped fully in 2027.
“This license fee announcement will be the last. The days of the elderly being threatened with prison sentences and bailiffs knocking on doors, are over. Time now to discuss and debate new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content,” Dorries wrote on Twitter.
The move will create additional stress for the BBC’s management, already struggling to find new ways to keep the corporation afloat.
Last year, BBC chairman Richard Sharp issued a warning of “serious consequences for a poorly funded BBC.” He underlined that if the license fees did not keep pace with inflation, it would “leave a hole” in the corporation’s budget.
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