He was responding to the report ‘Outdated, Outpaced and Out of Touch: The Future of the BBC Licence Fee’, from Defund the BBC, warning that the BBC is a “shadow of its former self” with serious doubts over the licence fee model being “in the best interests of the taxpaying public” and “unsustainable” in the modern age.
“The BBC is the most used media brand in the UK, BBC iPlayer is the country’s fastest growing streaming service, and more than 80 per cent of adults use the BBC on average each week.
Sir John Whittingdale was the last culture secretary to renegotiate the BBC charter including the licence fee but now believes it needs to find a new means of funding.
“The public cares about the BBC and this year, we will launch our biggest ever public engagement exercise so audiences can help drive and shape what they want from a universal and independent BBC in the future.
The last culture secretary to renegotiate the BBC charter has claimed that the licence fee is now “unsustainable” and must be replaced by an alternative form of funding.
