How is bbc worldwide funded

Although most were dealt with swiftly and did not take up a substantial amount of court time, it still amounts to more than a tenth of all cases brought before magistrates courts.

When the Guardian reported on such hearings back in , one man attempted to hand over his television to the court to avoid prosecution. Non-payment of the licence fee disproportionately affects women, with three-quarters of those prosecuted being female, perhaps because they are more likely to be at home during the day when officers visit. This guarantees the existence of the licence fee until , and it would require new legislation to unpick this arrangement, which could be difficult and would face substantial opposition in the House of Lords.

However, the level at which the licence fee is set — and therefore the amount of funding available to the BBC — is up for negotiation. The current arrangement runs out in , at which point there needs to be a new agreement between the government and the BBC for the next five-year period. The government has said it is actively considering decriminalisation of the licence fee, an idea last floated five years ago when Sajid Javid was culture secretary.

This approach would downgrade non-payment to a civil debt, with enforcement made by TV Licensing through civil courts and enforced using bailiffs — similar to non-payment of an electricity bill.

In the long run, other European countries are shifting away from licence fees and towards funding public broadcasters through general taxation. This would leave BBC funding even more at the whim of the government of the day. BBC licence fee. How is the BBC funded and could the licence fee be abolished? Jim Waterson Media editor.

Mon 16 Dec It reaches a weekly audience of around million people around the world. A quarter of the weekly global audience is aged between 15 and It now operates in more than 40 languages around the world from Pidgin to Korean, with new and expended bureaux in locations Cairo to Seoul, Belgrade to Bangkok. BBC World Service is funded from the licence fee. This grant is administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.