BBC director-general Matt Brittin has called for BBC News and other content to be made available on streaming services such as Netflix, arguing that the TV licence fee is "no longer fit for purpose". The comments come as the licence fee is under review ahead of the BBC's charter renewal in December 2027.
Licence fee under review
The BBC is currently funded predominantly through the TV licence fee, which allows viewers to watch live TV and catch up on BBC iPlayer. However, with the annual price rising to £180 earlier this year, more people are refusing to pay the fee and turning away from the broadcaster.
As part of the review into how the BBC should be funded in the future, Brittin has previously suggested a household levy as a potential option, claiming the fee has "held back" the broadcaster in recent years. He has stated that the current funding model needs to be modernised, with his sights set on streaming services such as Netflix.
'Our job to be everywhere'
Speaking on the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Brittin said: "What we need to look at is the current model. You pay the licence fee if you watch live TV or you’re on iPlayer. I’d like to see reform that allows us to be where audiences are."
"I think BBC content should be on Netflix, on YouTube, on TikTok, on Spotify, and Instagram, and everywhere where audiences are. Particularly news, actually, which I think is part of disinfecting misinformation. It’s our job to be everywhere."
Brittin shared that one of the ideas being discussed is that Brits should be made to pay a universal household levy to ensure fairness. This would be something every household pays and would hopefully cost everyone less. However, with the cost of living crisis, he admitted this levy would be a "big shift" from where we are today, but argued that everyone should pay for the BBC even if they are not using its services.
The director-general explained: "Ninety four per cent of households every month are consuming BBC content. That’s incredible, but yet only 80 per cent are paying."
"So there’s a fairness issue there in terms of how we fund the BBC and I think that the principle is if we want a BBC that’s for everyone, then it needs to be funded by everyone, and how you get that modernisation is critical."
Income drop and petition
It has been reported that the BBC's licence fee income has dropped by over £1 billion in real terms over the past decade. The 2026 BBC annual report also found that TV licences fell by more than half a million in the 2025/26 financial year.
Fresh calls are being made to abolish the TV licence fee for all households. An online petition posted on the UK Parliament website has garnered 5,030 signatures at the time of writing and calls for the BBC to be privatised.
The petition, created by Richard Peckham, reads: "Abolish the mandatory TV licence fee and revoke the BBC’s Royal Charter." The petition is open until November 5, 2026, and needs 10,000 signatures to obtain a written response from the UK Government.
