{"id":486174,"date":"2026-03-20T17:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/486174\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T17:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:08:09","slug":"bbc-moves-closer-to-online-only-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/486174\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC moves closer to online-only TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

Giving the BBC a permanent Charter could undermine support for the licence fee<\/a> if the broadcaster is allowed to switch off digital TV<\/a> transmissions, campaigners have warned. <\/p>\n

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said the Government will end the \u201cbizarre\u201d need for the corporation to justify its existence every decade.<\/p>\n

Instead of a time-limited Royal Charter, which expires every decade, the BBC will be placed on a permanent footing. However, critics warned that the change could make the BBC less accountable<\/a> to viewers \u2013 which they claimed could impact support for paying the TV licence.<\/p>\n

New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n

Concerns have been raised over BBC-backed plans to switch off Digital Terrestrial Television, or Freeview broadcasting, still used by millions, over the next decade, in a move to internet-only TV. <\/p>\n

The cost of watching TV could rise by \u00a3200 a year in high-speed broadband costs for some of the most vulnerable people, it has been claimed. <\/p>\n

Rural and isolated communities, where there is still no reliable broadband connection, fear they would be left behind as viewing by streaming becomes the norm. <\/p>\n

Broadcast 2040+, which is campaigning to stop the Freeview TV signal being turned off before everyone has access to online TV, said: \u201cIf the BBC wants a longer Charter settlement as the Government have confirmed, that must be matched by a clear commitment to the BBC maintaining and ensuring universal access to its services. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat must mean continuing to support broadcast TV and radio into the 2040s.\u201d <\/p>\n

Why licence fee would be affected if \u2018millions cut off from TV\u2019<\/p>\n

Labour MP Sarah Champion told The i Paper: \u201cThe BBC exists to serve the whole country, not just those who can afford high-speed broadband or feel confident online. For many households, particularly older people and those on low incomes, terrestrial television remains their primary way of accessing BBC services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Champion warned: \u201cIf the Charter Review accelerates a move away from terrestrial broadcasting, it risks cutting millions off from the BBC altogether and weakening public support for the licence fee. Protecting universal access to BBC services must be central to any future decisions on long-term funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former culture secretary Sir John Whittingdale, who negotiated the last Charter review in 2016, questioned the wisdom of giving the BBC a permanent constitution. He told The i Paper: \u201cWe made big changes and government will always want and need to have the ability to do so.\u201d <\/p>\n

Whittingdale\u2019s Charter introduced a new governance structure for the BBC and included a \u201chealth check\u201d review halfway through the 11-year period to make sure the corporation was sticking to its remit \u2013 or to keep it on a short tether, critics argued.<\/p>\n

A permanent Charter would make decision-making about the BBC less politicised, Whitehall insiders said. However, Reform UK is committed to axing the licence fee and a Farage-led government could ask Parliament to rip up changes made by Labour to the BBC\u2019s constitution.<\/p>\n

Roger Mosey, former BBC editorial director and head of TV news, said that a permanent Charter was \u201ca very good thing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it needs to be accompanied by proper funding and also the ability to vary over time how that funding is achieved,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Mosey warned that there are \u201crisks in accountability\u201d, which could create a \u201ccomplex bureaucracy\u201d or allow vocal special interest groups to \u201cshackle a creative organisation. So it\u2019s the right direction of travel but a lot of detail to be filled in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why BBC bosses \u2018must answer to viewers\u2019<\/p>\n

A permanent Charter did not mean the \u00a3180 a-year licence fee in perpetuity, Nandy said. \u201cThe terms, the structures and the funding for the BBC will continue to be negotiated every several years,\u201d she told a media conference. <\/p>\n

In return for ending a time-limited Charter, the BBC must become more accountable and transparent, Nandy said. The director general and chairman will be \u201cexpected to answer to the people they are tasked to represent\u201d. <\/p>\n

A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) spokesperson said: \u201cThis Charter will be the last of its kind as we seek to end the bizarre situation where if the Charter isn\u2019t agreed in time, the BBC ceases to exist.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Government will set out its final decisions in a White Paper on the BBC later this year. <\/p>\n

A BBC insider said removing the existential threat that the BBC could simply disappear without a Charter renewal was a \u201csignificant and welcome step\u201d, allowing the debate to move on to \u201cwhat we can deliver in the future and how we do it\u201d.<\/p>\n

The DCMS is considering whether a date for digital TV switch-off should be set from 2034. The Government and the BBC have said there would be no move to streaming-only TV until there is universal access to online television.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Giving the BBC a permanent Charter could undermine support for the licence fee if the broadcaster is allowed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[243,96,10191,39793,391,2996,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-486174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-licence-fee","11":"tag-lisa-nandy","12":"tag-tv","13":"tag-tv-licence","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}