In the United Kingdom, the government operates a Television License, which requires households to pay £169.50 a year to be allowed to watch live television on any device.  This license covers free-to-air channels such as the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, along with pay TV services like Sky or Virgin Media, in addition to watching live TV on any streaming service such as YouTube, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+.   The TV license also includes access to content via the BBC iPlayer.

The license was originally introduced in November 1923 as just a radio license, before it became the TV license in 1946 and has been one of the main ways the country funds the BBC, which doesn’t include advertising. 

Until recently, the TV license was compulsory for anyone with a television, and it was against the law to use a television without one. However, the rule was changed, resulting in fewer people paying for their TV license, especially as the license hasn’t adapted as quickly to the ever-changing streaming world.

Currently, if you only watch on-demand programming through Netflix or Disney+,  you wouldn’t require a TV license.  This has also resulted in fewer people getting a TV license since they don’t watch “live” TV.   However, if you watch something live on Netflix or Disney+, such as “WWE Raw” or “The Oscars”, technically you’d need a TV License to do so.

However, the government is looking to make some changes to the TV License, as according to Bloomberg, they are looking at ways to modernise the way it funds the BBC and is considering extending the TV License to cover streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix.

Over the past few years, there has been lots of reports of how the government is going to handle global streaming services becoming more popular, resulting in fewer local shows and films being created, resulting in less jobs and the loss of British culture on our screens. 

There have been suggestions of making streaming services pay a levy of their subscriptions to a central body, to help fund local content.  Many other countries have already done this or are currently in the process of introducing these funds, to help support local television.

The government is considering alternative ways to increase the amount of money generated for TV Licenses, including advertising on the BBC or adding a specific tax to streaming services like Disney+.  

The government is currently looking at ways to modernise the TV license to fund the BBC, which is in place until the end of 2027. With the ever-changing way people consume television, many feel the current system needs a drastic change. There are many other suggestions on the table with regard to how they could adapt the TV License, such as requiring a subscription to watch content via the BBC iPlayer or offering different tiers of TV license.

A government spokesperson has said that the government wouldn’t comment on speculation and will provide the public with its plans at a later date. But often, the government leaks out ideas or plans early to get some initial feedback from the public or to help set the tone, so when it does happen, people aren’t surprised.

According to John O’Connell, who is the chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance

“Forcing streaming service users to cough up the license fee would truly be one of the most bonkers ideas ever concocted.  Far from modernizing the BBC’s funding system, it would only further entrench the already archaic nature of the hated TV tax.”

The BBC also issued a statement regarding the leak:

“We want everyone to get value from the BBC.  We look forward to engaging with government on the next charter and securing the long term future of the BBC.”
 

Without a doubt, any suggestion of changing how the TV License works is going to cause some issues, and much like most other countries outside of the United States, governments are looking at ways of funding local television, as audiences move away from the traditional linear channels to streaming services.   Countries are dealing with this situation in many different ways, such as taking a percentage of a streaming service income or enforcing a tax.   Both of these will ultimately impact the subscribers since those costs will be passed onto the customer.

The UK is in a different situation with the TV License, which could be used to do a similar thing. Incorporating streaming services like Disney+ into it would no doubt increase the number of people required to have a license and raise more money.

The TV License system wasn’t ever built for the world we live in today, and the threat of the “TV License” van driving around the streets with special detection equipment that would know if you were watching TV and they would arrest you, if you didn’t have one, no longer works in a world with information at their fingertips.  

Including streaming services in the TV License would help fix some of the loopholes in the current system and simplify it; it would also be a unique way for the BBC to increase revenue and produce more local content. Many people already refuse to pay for the TV license, usually because they disagree with its concept or don’t watch the BBC and don’t feel they should have to pay for something they don’t want.  So, this idea of incorporating streaming services into the TV License won’t be popular.

But, without intervention, slowly, the world will move to a place where the big streaming platforms, like Netflix, Amazon and Disney+, will be the dominant way of watching television, resulting in far fewer local productions.  The only reason we’ve got so many local shows like “Rivals” ,”A Thousand Blows”, or “Renegade Nell” is because of the European legislation that requires the streaming services to do this. 

While many might think that any government intervention is unnecessary and that the market should adapt to consumers’ demands, if nothing is done, the major studios will just drive down costs and produce fewer shows while also increasing prices. 

Without a doubt, streaming services like Disney and Netflix will try their hardest to avoid any situation where they have to pay out money, but they might prefer their users take up the responsibility of funding a TV license than be forced into having an additional tax or giving a percentage of their subscription fees to the government.  Both of these would ultimately result in subscription prices going up regardless.

The TV License system in the UK isn’t ideal, but incorporating streaming services like Disney+ into its remit, will help support more British shows for British audiences.  Without any intervention, we might find ourselves in a decade or so without much British-made content.  However, it might also be time for the BBC and the Government to realise the TV License system isn’t suitable any longer and completely overhaul the concept, such as including advertising on the linear channels and making the BBC iPlayer only available to people who subscribe, just like any other streaming service, rather than making people pay for something they might not watch.

What do you think the UK government needs to do with the TV License?  Let me know on social media!

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Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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