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The annual \u00a3174.50 tax could be scrapped and replaced by a subscription model (Image: Alamy Stock Photo)<\/p>\n
A growing public revolt against the BBC could see the licence fee scrapped within years, it has been claimed. A review into the broadcaster\u2019s current taxpayer-subsidised funding model – based on the \u00a3174.50 annual tax – is set to suggest some parts become available via subscription.<\/p>\n
It comes after a series of major scandals the latest of which saw a member of rap duo Bobby Vylan spew vile antisemitic chants during the BBC<\/a>\u2019s coverage of Glastonbury. In future, events like that could be available on a pay-to-watch service.<\/p>\n Former Culture Secretary Sir John Whittingdale told the Daily Express: \u201cIs it possible to sustain the existing licence fee model? I have long believed no.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a growing rebellion against a compulsory flat-rate licence fee and every year more and more people are arguing they don\u2019t use the BBC<\/a> and are not purchasing a TV licence.<\/p>\n \u201cIf that continues, financial pressure will grow and the BBC<\/a> will have less to invest. On one hand it is trying to justify the licence fee by remaining popular, but at the same time the cost of doing so is going up and, arguably, the need for it is much less.\u201d<\/p>\n Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury which sparked a global row (Image: PA) Get top stories from The Express sent straight to your phone <\/strong> Join us on WhatsApp<\/a><\/p>\n Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy<\/a><\/p>\n Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who is leading the Government\u2019s review into the BBC<\/a>\u2019s royal charter, has demanded \u201caccountability at the highest level\u201d for the \u201cabsolute shocking\u201d impact rapper Bobby Vylan’s comments had on the Jewish community.<\/p>\n During a hate-filled performance the group’s frontman – who goes by the stage name Bobby Vylan – led the crowd in chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel<\/a> Defense Forces]”. He also chanted “free, free Palestine” and used the expression “from the river to sea, Palestine will be free” – used as a call for Palestinian control of all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n The BBC<\/a> said it \u201cdeeply regrets such offensive and deplorable behaviour\u201d was broadcast and issued a grovelling apology \u201cin particular to the Jewish community\u201d. It added: \u201cWe are unequivocal that there can be no place for antisemitism at, or on, the BBC<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet the crisis – the latest in a long line of scandals to rock the corporation – is now likely to form the basis of a review into the way it is funded.<\/p>\n The BBC<\/a> charter is an agreement between the broadcaster and the Government that sets out the terms and purposes of the corporation – including the licence fee. The current charter started on January 1, 2017, and runs until December 31, 2027.<\/p>\n The BBC<\/a> pockets most of its income – around \u00a33.7bn – from the annual tax. Just 80% of households currently pay the licence fee with the number falling each year.<\/p>\n Experts think the Glastonbury controversy, which came just months after the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, was pulled from iPlayer after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official, might be the final straw. Bobby Vylan was one of several acts to make inflammatory statements in support of Palestine during performances at the festival, alongside CMAT, Inhaler and Kneecap.<\/p>\n Sir John, 65, added: \u201cThe sad fact is the things people consider most important, traditional public service broadcasting like news, current affairs, education and the arts, are not ones likely to be capable of being maintained on a subscription basis.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at the number of licence fee payers, it\u2019s going down each year and that for the BBC<\/a> is a very serious threat. The question is what content does the BBC<\/a> provide which, arguably, only the BBC<\/a> can only provide?\u201d<\/p>\n The former Culture Secretary said he has long believed the licence fee model is unsustainable (Image: Jonathan Hordle\/REX)<\/p>\n One suggestion being mooted is programmes being available on a voluntary subscription basis, but that would require universal access via broadband.<\/p>\n The BBC<\/a>\u2019s controversial Glastonbury broadcast came less than one month after Director-General Tim Davie, 58, warned the UK faced a profound crisis of trust, which risks significant implications for cohesion.<\/p>\n In a major speech in Manchester in May, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to catastrophise; we have so much to be proud of as the UK: our tolerance, our innovative spirit, our creativity, our humour, our sense of fairness but I think that unless we act we will drift. The future of our cohesive, democratic society feels, for the first time in my life, at risk.<\/p>\n \u201cWith that in mind, we have been thinking how we can harness a precious national asset, the BBC<\/a>. How can it have maximum catalytic effect on the UK? How can we help families and the UK as a whole?<\/p>\n \u201cWith courage, collaboration, investment and imagination, we can create a UK that is more inclusive, more secure, and more successful.\u201d<\/p>\n Defund the BBC<\/a> has called for the broadcaster to be treated like a failing school and placed into special measures after the Glastonbury fiasco.<\/p>\n Rebecca Ryan, who heads the campaign group, said: \u201cWe must now ask if this is deliberate. The sheer number of similar mistakes or problems with bias, perceived or otherwise, can no longer be explained away by simple error.<\/p>\n \u201cThe BBC<\/a> is proving itself to be fundamentally untrustworthy and can no longer be trusted to maintain the standards it is meant to uphold.<\/p>\n \u201cIt must be put into special measures to ensure its failings are not continued.\u201d<\/p>\n Here’s the news: the BBC is facing a funding crisis as it battles for relevance (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n Independent MP Rupert Lowe, who last week launched a new movement called Restore Britain in an effort to \u201ccarpet-bomb wokery\u201d, said: \u201cThe BBC<\/a> is a foul stench, emanating across public discourse – it must now be immediately defunded and turned into a subscription service.<\/p>\n \u201cIt simply cannot be trusted to represent the interests and opinions of a large majority of patriotic Brits.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it’s as brilliant as we’re all told, the organisation should thrive under that model. I will not be signing up.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce a proud symbol of national identity, the BBC<\/a> now arrogantly lectures its audience, treating traditional British culture with contempt. It must be defunded.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department for Culture Media and Sport said: \u201cWe have not discussed charter renewal with the BBC<\/a> in the context of the events at Glastonbury. We have, of course, discussed charter renewal more broadly, and it is absolutely right to say the BBC<\/a>\u2019s editorial standards will form part of that discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Glastonbury](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6275884.jpg\" "\\"Glastonbury")
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