The BBC Charter is up for renewal in 2017, and the company is already looking to maximise income in the wake of a government which is, to say the least, lukewarm on the licencing model.
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If you’ve been refusing to pay for your licence fee, but watching programmes on catch-up through the BBC’s iPlayer, things could be changing. The BBC estimates that the loophole is being so widely exploited that it will cost it £100m-a-year in lost revenue by 2022.
He said: “When the licence fee was invented, video on demand did not exist”.
But those who only watch catch-up shows on iPlayer do not have to pay.
Those unwilling to part with a few shekels for the TV licence fee but still desiring to watch BBC programming have for a long time exploited a loophole in the law.
Mr Whittingdale said an order would need to be drafted and agreed by Parliament on the licensing change which he would try to get “passed as soon as we can”, hinting it could happen during the current session.
“I am not suggesting that we should ban ad-blockers but I do share the concern about their impact”, he continued.
Mr Whittingdale also launched a new drive to tackle ad-blocking, saying it poses a similar threat to websites that illegal file-sharing did to music and film a decade ago.
Responding to Whittingdale’s speech, the shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Maria Eagle, said: “The secretary of state seems more concerned about helping the BBC’s commercial rivals than in helping the corporation satisfy its audiences and meet its public service obligations”.
“I would like the expectation of the BBC as distinctive to be always present in the minds of commissioners when they come to look to at bids and decide what to commission”, Mr Whittingdale said after his speech.
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He pointed to research that showed while people do not dislike online advertising in general, they do not like advertising that “interrupts what they are doing”, such as auto-play adverts and pop-ups. “And I plan to host a round table with representatives from all sides of the argument to discuss this in the coming weeks”.
