The UK government could be about to reveal plans to extend the BBC licence fee to cover streaming services, according to a report in The Independent.
A white paper on the BBC Charter renewal is expected to be published before Christmas, said the report, which is expected to set out proposals to overhaul the funding model to reflect changing audience habits.
According to The Independent, a ‘senior Whitehall source’ said proposals to extend the licence fee to streaming platforms aim to prevent people bypassing it by watching content on the internet via phones, tablets and computers.
Under the proposed changes, the fee would be expanded across all other online providers, including Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, YouTube and others currently exempt from the charge.
