BBC licence fee ‘set to be scrapped and replaced with subscription service’
THE BBC licence fee is set to be scrapped and replaced with a subscription service, it was reported last night.
Senior aides to No10 insisted they were “not bluffing” about changing the way the corporation is funded, sources told The Sunday Times.
Plans being drawn up by Downing Street include forcing the sale of the majority of the 61 radio stations but keeping Radio 3 and Radio 4 safe.
They will also reduce its number of TV channels, scale back the website, invest in the World Service and ban BBC stars from lucrative second jobs.
A No10 source told the Sunday Times: “We are not bluffing on the licence fee.
“We are having a consultation and we will whack it.
“It has to be a subscription model.
“They’ve got hundreds of radio stations, they’ve got all these TV stations and a massive website.
“The whole thing needs massive pruning back.”
The source added that No10 is now on “Mission: attack.”
It comes days after the BBC announced the licence fee would rise £3 to £157.50 a year from April - just before the firm axes free ones for over 75s.
The corporation is also facing a huge backlash after their plans to scrap free licences for over 75s - affecting 3.7million pensioners.
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