BBC Licence Fee Will Rise 6.6 Percent, Culture Secretary Confirms

The BBC licence fee will rise by £10.50 to £169.50 a year, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has announced, along with a review into alternative funding models. The fee, which funds much of the corporation’s operations, had been frozen at £159 in 2022 for two years to “protect families from the sharp rise in the cost of living,” the government said. Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Ms. Frazer said the increase will instead be based on September’s consumer prices index rate of inflation, which was 6.7 percent. This will mean an increase of £10.50 to £169.50 per year. Ms. Frazer said: “We know family budgets are stretched, which is why we have stepped in again—following two years of licence fee freezes—to reduce this year’s increase to less than a £1 a month.”...