Netflix users face being forced to pay the TV licence fee even if they do not watch the BBC, under plans being explored by officials.
One option for the future funding of the corporation is to make households who only use streaming services pay the annual charge, it was reported on Tuesday.
Bloomberg said the plan has been discussed by the Prime Minister’s office, as well as the Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Other options include allowing the BBC to advertise, imposing a specific tax on streaming services, and asking those who listen to BBC Radio to pay a fee.
On Tuesday, the DCMS said the Netflix proposal was not under “active consideration” but did not rule out that the option was on the table.
The BBC’s charter ends at the end of 2027, and Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, is looking at ways to keep the corporation well funded at a time when more people are gravitating toward on-demand services such as Disney+.
Critics say the licence fee dates from a time when consumers had no choice but to watch programmes at the time of broadcast.
It currently costs households who watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer £169.50 a year, an amount that usually rises annually with inflation.
Even if they don’t watch BBC programmes, households are required to hold a TV licence to view or stream programmes live on sites including YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.
It is not, however, needed if people only watch on-demand, non-BBC content.
If the licence fee is expanded to those who only watch video-on-demand, it could risk a backlash from consumers who may argue they already pay subscriptions for the same services.
Another option under consideration includes making users of the BBC’s on-demand app pay a subscription fee rather than the licence, mirroring the business model of services like Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Ministers are also looking at tiering the licence fee so that lower-income households don’t pay the same rate as more affluent users.
Another option was to leave the licence fee largely as it is, with a few tweaks, but with better enforcement, a person familiar with the internal deliberations said.
A spokesman for the DCMS said that they wouldn’t comment on “speculation”, adding: “We will provide more details about charter review plans in due course.”
A government source said the process was at an early, information-gathering stage and was not being actively considered by Ms Nandy.
