End of the TV licence fee? BBC to back radical overhaul

Tony Hall set to back a radical overhaul of the licence fee that would apply to all households if they have television or not.

17:56 02 March 2015

Tony Hall, the current head of the BBC, is expected to announce plans of backing a radical overhaul that may well put an end to the TV licence fee.

In a speech to staff at Broadcasting House, Lord Hall is expected to end the current system of funding the state broadcaster and that the move would apply to every household, regardless if they have television or not.

Lord Hall's speech, quoted by The Independent, read: “We’ve always said that the licence fee should be updated to reflect changing times.

"I welcome the committee’s endorsement of our proposal to make people pay the licence fee even if they only watch catch-up television. The committee has suggested another route to modernising the licence fee – a universal household levy.

“Both proposals have the same goal in mind: adapting the licence fee for the internet age. I believe we need and we will need what the licence fee – in whatever form – makes happen more than ever.”

The system, a similar version of which was introduced in Germany in 2013, would also put an end to a process that involves detecting and prosecuting those who avoid paying for the TV licence.