UK Government Explores TV Licence Fee For Disney+ Users
Eight years ago, the UK government introduced the Television Licence as a way of funding the BBC and all these decades later, British households are required to purchase a licence to watch live TV or to watch shows/films on linear channels or on platforms like the BBC iPlayer.
This unique way of funding has supported the BBC in creating an advertisement-free environment across linear channels, radio stations and on streaming. Because the BBC doesn’t need to appeal to advertisers, it is free to create content that might not make sense from a business point of view but is culturally important.
Currently, a TV license costs £180 a year, or £15 a month. It also still offers a discount for black and white televisions, for just £60.50 a year. Highlighting potentially one of the problems for the TV License. It was designed for a different era!
Up until ten years ago, it was a criminal offence to watch TV without a license, but this changed. Following the popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, we’ve seen more and more people ditching traditional television, with only 80% of British households now paying the TV License. However, the BBC states that 94% of the UK population uses its services every month, so it loses hundreds of millions of pounds per year from people not paying for their license.
This is because streaming services like Disney+ fell outside the remit of the TV License, since they didn’t feature live television. Originally, these streaming platforms didn’t offer live television, but with Netflix introducing live events like the WWE and Disney+ bringing its ESPN content onto the platform, now technically, if you are watching live content on streaming services, you are legally required to get a TV License.
Many are calling for a drastic shift in how the TV license operates in the UK. Some argue that it should be abolished, letting the BBC stand on its own as a commercial business, rather than making everyone pay for it.
But the government looks to have a different view, as the UK’s Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is considering making a change to the rules, which would require anyone watching television on a platform like Disney+, to need a TV license.
The argument is that the current system needs modernising to reflect how people consume television; however, as you might expect, the major studios like Disney, Netflix and Amazon disagree with this idea.
Another option would be to include the TV Licence in council tax or utility bills, to ensure that every household in the country pays its “fair” share, which would also reduce the annual cost, since more people would be automatically paying it, and the cost could be shared out equally.
Lisa has, however, said that this is just an idea and is not a secret plot to fund the BBC, stating that “We are having an open conversation with the pubic, parliament and the BBC about this.”
For Disney, it would likely bring more security to its streaming service, as it would likely have to be seen to be actively checking that subscribers have a TV license to watch Disney+ in the UK. There have also been discussions about adding a levy to streaming services, which could help continue funding the BBC, but that also has many flaws, as companies like Disney and Netflix would just pass those costs on to customers, resulting in them paying even more.
Without doubt, the TV license system needs an overhaul. I still can’t understand how the BBC iPlayer doesn’t require an account with a valid TV license to access content. Just having a pop-up stating “do you have a TV license?” at the start, only to simply press ok and you’re in. This seems like a very simple system to encourage more people who use the iPlayer to pay for its usage, or include commercials if you don’t have one, to help fund it.
I’d also like to see a change to the BBC website, as on a recent trip to the US, I noticed ads across the site while I was catching up on the latest news. Once again, my idea is that if you’ve got a valid TV license and log in, you should get an ad-free experience.
The idea of making people pay for a TV license just doesn’t work anymore. The BBC is unique, and I’d like that to continue, but if you never watch BBC content, you shouldn’t be forced to pay for it. I also think, as someone who pays my TV license, that if you don’t pay, the BBC should make it harder for you to access its content. That’s very difficult to do with linear channels, since they are free-to-air and anyone with an aerial can access them, but the BBC should at least be adapting to the change rather than just having a trust-and-honour login system for the iPlayer.
Many other countries, such as France, Finland, Sweden, and Iceland, have already abolished their TV licence system, opting instead to fund public broadcasters directly through general taxation or progressive household taxes.
BBC Chair Samir Shah said in a statement regarding the current system:
“When 94 per cent of adults use the BBC per month yet fewer than 80 per cent of households contribute, it tells you the current funding model cannot maintain the BBC’s public service mission.”
There is already a lot of scrutiny over how the BBC is funded, even more into how it spends the money, so making it funded directly by a tax would mean the BBC would be much more dependent on whatever government is currently in power.
As the global platforms like Disney+, Amazon and Netflix continue to grow, many countries around the world are struggling to come up with ideas to protect their local industries and culture, as without protection, we could easily see local stories and voices disappear from our screens. But there is also no doubt that the BBC can’t continue in its current form without some changes.
Personally, it seems ridiculous that watching “Hoppers” on Disney+ doesn’t require a TV license, but watching a UEFA women’s football match on the same platform does. The system does need to be simplified, as this loophole has been left open for too long.
The days of the urban legend of vans going around with special detectors to catch people watching TV without a license and arresting them are long gone. This scare tactic doesn’t work in a world of social media. While the BBC spend hundreds of millions of pounds each year sending letters to households not paying their bills, these threats often come to nothing.
I’m very much in favour of forcing the major streaming services to invest in local content, as without legislation, we will end up in decades’ time having a very globalised output, losing our local culture and voices along the way. Basing it on how much income they make in each region is a fair way to deal with the situation, the more popular the platforms become, the more they have to invest, while also not tying up the global services up into quotas that don’t work.
I have little doubt that the TV licensing system needs changing, and while I can see the idea that you should only pay for what you want to access, I can also see the unique value of the BBC. Passing additional costs onto streaming services like Disney+ isn’t the answer, since that isn’t fixing the problem; it’s passing the blame onto the global platforms, rather than addressing that the BBC cannot continue in its current form, and the current loophole needs fixing for clarity.
Do you think a TV license should be required for Disney+? Let me know on social media!
