The corporation could lose billions of pounds in income if the Government moves ahead with plans to switch off Freeview, the platform used in more than 16 million homes, which gives free-to-air access to the BBC and other broadcasters, by the end of 2034.<\/p>\n
But nearly 48 per cent of people would oppose paying the \u00a3174.50 licence fee <\/a>if BBC content were only available online, according to a survey carried out by Strand Partners and commissioned by the Broadcast 2040+ coalition.<\/p>\n A similar proportion of people (49 per cent) said they would watch less or stop watching BBC content altogether. Thirty-six per cent said it would not change their viewing habits.<\/p>\n The polling, shared with The i Paper, comes as the BBC explores radical new ways to sustain its funding<\/a>, including reportedly a \u201clevy\u201d on listening to its radio stations, with ministers carrying out a review into the broadcaster\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Industry insiders believe a such a levy would be impossible to enforce since there is currently no mechanism to block non-payers from listening to BBC radio channels.<\/p>\n The licence fee brought in \u00a33.8bn for the BBC last year, with 23.8 million licences in force. A boycott of the charge of the size suggested by the poll would wipe out \u00a31.8bn of income, likely forcing the BBC into drastic cuts and service closures.<\/p>\n With millions of viewers now watching platforms such as Netflix via streaming and smart TVs, the BBC is backing plans to deliver programmes solely across the internet and switch off Freeview transmissions, which are received through aerials.<\/p>\n The switch would save the UK\u2019s public service broadcasters (the BBC, ITV, Channels 4 and 5) costs they incur in transmitting Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) to a dwindling Freeview audience. The frequency spectrum that would be freed up could then be sold to mobile network operators to improve phone coverage.<\/p>\n However campaigners warn that 1.8 million homes could still be reliant on Freeview to watch TV in 2035, with the elderly, disabled and those on low incomes among those either unable to access high-speed broadband or afford the cost.<\/p>\n Cost of \u2018free\u2019 TV could rise above \u00a3500<\/p>\n The additional expense for those who do not currently subscribe to high-speed broadband could see the cost of \u201cfree\u201d TV \u2013 a broadband contract, plus the licence fee \u2013 rise to over \u00a3500 per year, according to TV industry consultant Christy Swords. <\/p>\n The elderly remain the most likely group to be without the internet, with over-85s eight times more likely to be non-users, according to Ofcom.<\/p>\n The nationwide survey for Broadcast 2040+ questioned 26,000 people and was weighted by age, gender and UK region. It could now prompt a rethink on axing DDT after identifying a serious risk to the licence fee and a potential slump in the BBC\u2019s audience.<\/p>\n A petition opposing the switch-off<\/a> now has more than 95,000 signatures. Charit Age UK said it would be \u201ccompletely unacceptable\u201d to make the shift before addressing major affordability factors that prevent older people from getting online.<\/p>\n EveryoneTV, the organisation that manages Freeview, said 900,000 homes are completely reliant on Freeview\/DTT today, and do not have any broadband.<\/p>\n A majority of those questioned in the poll, 53 per cent, said the BBC should be available to everyone without needing an internet connection.<\/p>\n Nearly three quarters believed terrestrial television should continue until at least the mid-2040s, with many supporting its retention well beyond that point \u2013 at a cost equivalent to 1 or 2 per cent of the BBC\u2019s revenue, campaigners say.<\/p>\n
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