The UK’s Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said she is open to expanding the BBC licence fee so it would apply more broadly to people who subscribe to streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video. The idea matters because the BBC is heading into charter renewal and a debate over how it should be funded, while ministers and the broadcaster are looking for ways to address falling payment rates and long-term pressure on public service broadcasting finances.

Nandy suggested several possible models, including charging full licence fees to households that use both the BBC and subscription streamers, and a smaller charge for those who only use streamers, alongside targeted concessions. The current annual licence fee is £180, and while 94% of the UK population use BBC services each month, fewer than 80% pay it, costing the corporation hundreds of millions of pounds a year. She argued streamers benefit from the BBC’s programmes, infrastructure and talent pipeline, but repeated that the government still opposes a separate streamer levy on companies because it does not want to deter investment in the UK.