- Former culture secretary Baroness Nicky Morgan has strongly criticised government plans to extend the BBC licence fee to streaming platforms such as YouTube, Netflix and Disney Plus, labelling the proposed levy a retrograde step.
- The plan, anticipated in an upcoming government white paper on the BBC Charter review, would expand the annual £180 licence fee beyond live TV and BBC iPlayer to all streaming services, potentially forcing an extra 3 to 4 million households to pay.
- Opponents of the move, including Baroness Morgan, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and Independent MP Adnan Hussain, argue that the broadcaster should adopt a subscription model for entertainment content rather than increasing financial strain on households.
- Supporters including Commons Culture Select Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage and former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw contend that a broader device-neutral levy is needed to sustainably support public service broadcasting and local journalism.
- Lord Jack McConnell, an adviser to Andy Burnham on soft power, also backed the principle of spreading public service information costs more evenly across the population to secure future funding.
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