BBC License Fee “Impossible” To Sustain, Says New UK Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan
deadline.comNew UK Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has indicated she will take up the mantle of firebrand predecessor Nadine Dorries by insisting it is “impossible” to sustain the BBC license fee after 2027, while distancing herself from the former I’m a Celebrity… contestant’s views on impartiality.
Appearing for the first time in front of the UK’s Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee (DCMSC), Donelan stressed that she will push on and seek alternatives to the fee that emerge from a review into the £159.50 ($195) annual charge – the BBC’s funding model for the past century.
Questioned on what she would do if the review recommends no change to the funding model, Donelan said this would be “impossible” due to the fact that “increasing the license fee will further drive down” the number of people who pay the fee.
It is currently frozen but will return to rising with inflation in two years’ time. “The licence fee alone cannot be the only answer because we know the direction of travel,” said Donelan, a former WWE Marketing Manager who took up her post three months ago.
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