The BBC TV licence fee is set to rise by £5.50 to £180 a year in a bid to ‘keep the BBC on stable financial footing’, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced.
News of the price hike is set to deal a further blow to millions of households already struggling with rising costs and comes despite the BBC and the previous government striking a deal to keep the licence below £175 a year.
In 2022, it was agreed the licence fee would be linked to inflation until at least 2027.
When the agreement was reached, the licence fee was £159 and was projected to cost less than £175 by its final year. However, higher inflation than predicted has caused the licence fee to be reviewed.
Last November, the Labour Government announced it would rise from £169.50 to £174.50 from April.
The corporation raked in almost £4billion from the levy in 2025.
But the future of the licence fee has come under scrutiny amid a sharp decline in the number of people watching traditional TV channels as viewers continue to turn to streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video.
The number of licences bought decreased from 24.1 million to 23.8 million in 2024/25, with the drop hitting the BBC’s income in real terms.
The BBC TV licence fee is set to rise by £5.50 to £180 a year in a bid to ‘keep the BBC on stable financial footing’, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced
News of the price hike is set to deal a further blow to millions of households already struggling with rising costs and comes despite a deal to keep the licence below £175 a year
In a statement on Friday, DCMS described the BBC as ‘the UK’s number one media brand, with 94per cent of UK adults using the BBC each month last year.’
The broadcaster ‘remains the UK’s most widely used and trusted news outlet’, it added.
Free licences will remain for people aged over 75 on Pension Credit, with reduced fees for care home residents and blind individuals.
The department added the price hike ‘comes alongside the ongoing Charter Review, which will ensure the BBC is sustainably funded to provide value for licence fee payers, commands the public’s trust with impartial editorial standards and drives growth, opportunity and good jobs across the country.’
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