Government plans streaming licence fee

The government will publish a white paper before Christmas proposing to extend the BBC licence fee to online streaming services in what is unofficially called a YouTube tax.

Why expand the licence fee now

A senior Whitehall source told The Independent the plan aims to prevent people dodging the fee by watching content on phones, tablets or computers instead of televisions.

Which platforms would be affected

Currently anyone using a television to watch content must pay the licence fee. The proposal would expand it to Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus, YouTube and other online providers currently exempt.

Revenue must fund local journalism

Any new cash raised under the plan must be spent on reviving local journalism and tackling misinformation, which has fuelled the rise of parties such as Reform UK.

YouTube is the biggest target

The proposal is dubbed the YouTube tax because the site is by far the biggest online video platform in the UK with around fifty five million users.

BBC director wants wider distribution

BBC director-general Matt Brittin said he wants BBC News on streaming sites like Netflix and argued the television licence fee is no longer fit for purpose.

“I'd like to see reform that allows us to be where audiences are.”

BBC facing licence fee decline

Around five hundred thirty nine thousand fewer TV licences were in force in the year to thirty-first March twenty twenty-six. There has been a drop of around two million in the past five years.

Charter renewal deadline approaches

The royal charter sets out BBC governance and funding arrangements and must be renewed every ten years. It is set to end in December twenty twenty-seven.