Matt Brittin, the newly appointed director-general of the BBC, faced his first grilling by MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, roughly six and a half weeks into a job widely described as a "poisoned chalice" after top candidates reportedly turned it down. The two-hour session matters because the committee is weighing the BBC's future as the broadcaster fights to renew its Royal Charter and secure funding, currently raised through the licence fee. A former Google executive and one-time Olympic rower, Brittin is seen to have performed assuredly despite rising temperatures both literal and political.

Brittin, joined by BBC chair Samir Shah, signalled that the corporation must move away from a licence fee "locked into yesterday's model", floating alternatives such as a household levy added to utility bills — which he called "quite appealing", though the Starmer government has reportedly ruled it out — or extending the fee to all video content, including streaming. The current £180 fee could potentially fall under a universal levy, he suggested, which would also cut roughly £190 million in annual collection costs. He warned that advertising funding was not viable given traditional advertising's "structural decline" and the damage it would do to commercial rivals, while acknowledging looming programme cuts, low morale, internal restructuring and an ongoing lawsuit from President Trump.