The BBC Charter review and your TV licence

Today, GOV.UK and TV Licensing say you need a TV Licence to watch or record live TV on any channel or service, including programmes watched live on streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, and to use BBC iPlayer, whatever device you watch on. You don't need one if you only watch on-demand programmes on services other than iPlayer, such as Netflix, Disney Plus or YouTube videos, and TV Licensing lets you tell it you don't need a licence. Our guides to how TV over broadband works and Freely, the free live TV service streamed over broadband explain what that means for streaming boxes and free live channels.

The Charter covers the BBC's purpose, how it is governed and regulated, and how it is funded. The current one began on 1 January 2017; the next will be the tenth in the BBC's history.

The green paper argues the licence has to keep up with how people watch, and points out it has been adapted before: a colour supplement was added in 1968, and BBC iPlayer was brought into scope in 2016. The figures it gives explain the pressure:

• About 23.7 million UK households held a TV licence in 2024/25, and the number of licences in force has fallen every year since 2017/18.
• Over a quarter of people no longer watch live TV regularly each week.
• The share of households that need a licence but don't hold one rose from about 6% in 2015 to over 12% by December 2025, the green paper says. The MPs' report covered below cites BBC figures putting evasion at 11.93% in 2025/26.

For a household that watches mostly through broadband, the debate is really about whether the line between live TV and on-demand viewing still makes sense, and if not, what replaces it.

The green paper doesn't propose a single answer. It sets out options and says which ones the government is still considering. In its own terms, these are the parts that affect what households pay.

The green paper is clear on three things it is not considering as a replacement for the licence fee:

• A new tax on households.
• Funding the BBC through general taxation, meaning money from the Treasury rather than a separate charge.
• A levy on streaming services' revenues, meaning a charge on companies such as subscription streaming platforms, rather than on viewers.

The Culture Secretary repeated two of these in the Commons on 18 June 2026. Asked whether she would rule out extending the licence fee to streaming services such as Netflix, she said the government had avoided speculating about future funding, except to say it had ruled out a levy on streamers and direct taxation, citing the BBC's need to stay independent. She did not rule the extension of the fee to streaming in or out.

For the rest of the current Charter, the fee is already set. DCMS announced on 6 February 2026 that the colour licence would rise by £5.50 from 1 April 2026, a 3.14% increase in line with CPI. CPI, the Consumer Prices Index, is the official measure of how fast prices are rising. GOV.UK gives the cost as £180 a year (£60.50 for a black and white set). DCMS also said the fee will rise with CPI again in April 2027, the final year of the current Charter and funding settlement, and that the government has committed to the licence fee for the rest of this Charter period.

The House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (called the Culture, Media and Sport Committee until 15 September 2026) is a cross-party group of MPs that scrutinises the department. It opened its inquiry on 12 March 2026. Its main points on funding:

• The current fee is outdated. The committee concluded it is no longer fit for purpose and that the best next step is to reform it so it is no longer linked to a television set.
• Broaden the scope, cut the individual cost. It recommended that the white paper set out steps to broaden the licence fee's scope in time for January 2028, so that at a minimum it is no longer linked to a particular device or activity, on condition that the cost of an individual licence comes down while the BBC's income stays sustainable.
• Keep a household levy in mind. A household levy would be a charge on every household, whatever it watches. The committee said the government should not have ruled it out entirely and should keep an open mind on it. In evidence on how such a levy might be collected, witnesses called council tax an unpopular tax with uneven collection rates between councils; there was more optimism about an extra amount on the broadband or utility bill.
• Drawbacks elsewhere. It judged that general taxation would risk the BBC's independence, that a streaming-services levy was unlikely to raise enough, and that advertising and subscription have drawbacks. It did not support a paywall for UK viewers to watch older programmes on iPlayer.
• A permanent Charter. It recommended making the Charter permanent, with regular reviews. The Culture Secretary had already told the Commons on 18 June 2026 that the government would put the BBC on a permanent charter.

Committee recommendations are not government policy, and the household levy is an option the committee says the government appeared to rule out when the green paper said it was not considering a new tax on households. A minister told the Lords on 19 October 2026 that the government welcomed the committee's findings, but Parliament's records listed no formal government response when we checked on 27 October 2026.

These are the press reports we opened and checked, oldest first. Each is a report of what the government was said to be considering, not an announcement.

• 12 May 2026 (reported): Advanced Television, citing The Times, reported that the government was said to be considering extending the licence fee to cover streaming platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video. It also reported the BBC's argument that a wider scope could let the cost come down.
• 23 September 2026 (reported): ISPreview reported that the government was reportedly considering a monthly Home Internet Levy on household broadband bills to replace the TV licence, an idea understood to have come from the Social Market Foundation, a think tank. DCMS said only that it was looking at a range of options, and ISPreview said no decisions had been made.
• 16 October 2026 (reported): The Press Association, citing The Independent, reported plans to extend the licence fee to online streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix, dubbed a "YouTube tax", with a white paper expected before Christmas. DCMS said it was looking at a range of options, including reforming the licence fee, but "no final decisions have been made".

Three days later, a peer asked in the House of Lords whether the government plans to extend the licence fee to households that use streaming services. The minister said the government is keeping an open mind on all options, including licence fee reform, and is weighing the impact on households, consumer choice, investment and the creative economy. She declined to say more before the white paper.

Because the September idea would involve broadband providers, their side is worth knowing. ISPA, the trade body for internet providers, said (as ISPreview reported) that adding a tax to broadband bills that would not be invested in broadband networks or services would not benefit consumers, and that collecting or enforcing the licence fee is not an appropriate role for providers. Until a white paper appears, treat any report of a new charge as unconfirmed.

The green paper sets out the official route to a new Charter:

1. The consultation responses inform a white paper setting out the government's chosen policy. The green paper said it would be published in 2026, and a minister said on 19 October 2026 that it would come by the end of the year.
2. A draft Charter is published online and debated in Parliament.
3. The new Charter takes effect once it is approved by the Privy Council, the formal body of senior advisers to the monarch that approves Royal Charters.

The target start date is 1 January 2028. We found no official timetable for when any change to the licence would apply to households, and the green paper adds that some changes, such as new concessions, may need legislation.

Until then, today's rules and the £180 fee stay in place, with the CPI-linked rise DCMS has confirmed for April 2027. We'll update this guide when the white paper or the government's reply to MPs is published.

No decision has been made about the licence after 2027, so there is nothing new to plan around yet. A few practical points still help.

• Check whether you need a licence on today's rules, not on reports. If you're unsure where your household's viewing falls, our TV over broadband guide walks through it, device by device.
• A TV bundle doesn't replace the licence. Buying TV channels from your broadband provider doesn't remove the need for a licence if anyone in the home watches them live. If you're comparing broadband and TV deals, count the licence separately.
• Know where paid streaming stands. Watching on-demand programmes on Netflix, Disney Plus and similar services doesn't need a licence today, but watching anything live on them (live sport or events, for example) does, whether you pay the service directly or through your broadband provider.
• Don't choose a contract around a charge that doesn't exist. No broadband levy has been announced. Pick a package on what you need now: speed, price over the whole contract and any mid-contract price rises. You can compare deals at your postcode, and our cheap broadband deals page lists lower-cost options.
• If money is tight, check help that exists now. The licence concessions listed above are in place today. For the broadband bill itself, our guide to broadband social tariffs explains the cheaper packages many providers offer to people on certain benefits.

• The future of aerial TV. A separate June 2026 green paper asks whether Freeview through an aerial should end in 2034 or 2044; see will Freeview end after 2034?
• Changing TV boxes. See moving from Sky Q or Virgin TV 360 to a Stream box.
• Apps disappearing from older TVs. That's a device issue, not a licence one; see streaming apps stopped working on an older TV.
• Students. Licence rules for halls and shared houses are in our guide to broadband for students.