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UK lawmakers urge changes to BBC licence fee

The BBC should reduce its output and the television licence fee should eventually be scrapped, a parliamentary committee has said after considering the role of the publicly funded broadcaster in the wake of a string of scandals and industry changes.

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The BBC should reduce its output and the television licence fee should eventually be scrapped, a parliamentary committee has said after considering the role of the publicly funded broadcaster in the wake of a string of scandals and industry changes.

The 93-year-old organisation has a central presence in British cultural life, with its TV, radio and online content reaching 96 percent of the population on a weekly basis, and millions more abroad. But the 145.50-pound ($225) annual licence fee, which is paid by every UK household with a television and brings in 3.7 billion pounds a year for the corporation, has long jarred with some viewers and politicians.

In a report on the future of the BBC, the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee said while the licence fee was still the most suitable funding method in the short term, it should eventually be replaced by a wider broadcasting levy that could also support other sources of local and regional news. Subscription services for the BBC could also be considered in the future.



"When an organisation is in receipt of nearly 4 billion pounds of public money, very big questions have to be asked about how that money is provided and spent, and how that organisation is governed and made accountable," said Chairman John Whittingdale.


The corporation's position has also been damaged by a spate of recent scandals including the handling of a child sex case, a failed 100 million-pound digital project and questions over large executive severance payments. A set fee for viewers to watch the BBC's output at scheduled times -- linear TV -- is also harder to maintain when increasing numbers of viewers watch TV online and from a number of indirect sources.

The BBC's remit and independence is underpinned by a Royal Charter which runs out at the end of 2016. The report said any funding change should not be rushed but changes could come in the 2020s. It also said the BBC Trust, which oversees the corporation, should be scrapped and said the era of the broadcaster providing "something for everyone" was over and it should reduce provision in areas where others were better placed.

In response, the BBC welcomed the fact that the committee's members had voted against adopting a subscription model now and said it welcomed talks about modernising the licence fee.
 

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