The annual television licence fee will increase by £3 to £157.50 from 1 April 2020, following a government decision to link rises to inflation. The current fee of £154.50 has been in place since April 2019.
The increase comes amid ongoing debate about the future of the licence fee. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in December that the system needs 'looking at', while the government has considered whether non-payment should remain a criminal offence. Last week, Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, the BBC's highest-paid presenter, called for the fee to be made voluntary.
Controversy also surrounds the planned removal of free TV licences for most over-75s from 1 June. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: 'A £3 a year increase to the TV licence fee may not sound much but will be yet another blow to the hundreds of thousands of over-75s who will struggle to afford a TV licence from June.'
The new fee equates to £3.02 per week or £13.13 per month, funding BBC services including nine national TV channels, ten national radio stations, local radio, websites, the BBC Sounds app and BBC iPlayer. A licence is required to watch or record live TV or to download or watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer.
The government and BBC will negotiate the fee's level after 2022, when the current inflation-linked agreement ends. Outgoing BBC director general Tony Hall defended the licence fee, saying it 'guarantees... commitment to creativity and risk-taking'.
