“The licence fee in its current form is unsustainable simply because there are fewer and fewer people paying it.” So said the Culture Secretary in the United Kingdom. That was in response to the suggestion from the new Director General of the BBC that the television licence was “no longer fit for purpose”.

Answering questions from the members of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Matt Brittin was refreshingly transparent.

He described the licence fee as “yesterday’s model”. He said: “It is a busted flush. It is no longer fit for purpose, and that is why we need to make the case for the BBC and a shift in the licence fee model.”

“What I see, coming in fresh, is that the BBC is locked into yesterday’s model of consumption — the licence fee being payable on linear television and iPlayer — when the world has moved on. Consumers are living in tomorrow’s world today, so we need to look again at the mechanism for funding the BBC as part of Charter.”

He said: “It is held back, I think, by the straitjacket of the current licence fee mechanism, which is obviously no longer fit for purpose.”

His BBC chairman, Dr Samir Shah, was more reserved, keeping his options open, saying: “the important thing here is that a modernised licence fee must capture the way people are now consuming content, particularly the younger generation.”

Asked whose job it was to communicate about the licence fee, the BBC chairman initially could not hear the question and then fumbled a response that the chair of the committee described as a “word salad”. She turned to the new director general and asked him the same question and he responded with calm confidence.

Overall, the former Google executive seemed remarkably on top of is new role, six weeks into the job, and was impressively persuasive. He looked like an executive who acknowledged the corporate challenge, rather than his predecessors who have been more determined to defend the indefensible.

The Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, was asked on the BBC Today programme, whether she agreed that the licence fee was no longer fit for purpose. She was equally frank, saying: “I do, actually. I’ve thought for a long time that the licence fee, in its current form, is unsustainable, simply because there are fewer and fewer people paying it.”

“You can either allow the BBC to go into a period of managed decline, or you can ask people to pay more… so we’re looking at all options. The only option that we have ruled out completely is funding the BBC through general taxation because of the risk of political interference.”

“We have made no decisions about this,” she said. “We’re determined to get this right. What is not negotiable is that we will fund the BBC properly. That is a commitment that we have made. What is up for negotiation is how we do that, because it has to be sustainable and it has to command public support.”

It represents a striking change of position for the BBC, which has long argued for the television licence as a form of funding.

As recently as March 2026, the corporation suggested that the funding model needs reform, with fewer than eight out of ten households paying for a television licence, with income falling by nearly a quarter in real terms over the last ten years.

In its response to the government Charter Review green paper, the BBC wrote: “We need a modernised public funding mechanism that can support a universal public service. One that is fair and affordable, sensitive to the pressure on households from the cost of living and fits with a modern media environment. This should include options to ensure collection and enforcement is fair, proportionate and effective.” It did concede: “we are willing to consider radical options for future funding.”

The consultation asked: “To what extent do you agree that the licence fee should continue to fund a wide range of services and output that aim to inform, educate and entertain audiences?”

The BBC responded at the time: “We strongly agree that the licence fee should continue to fund a wide range of services that inform, educate and entertain.”

On the question of reforming the licence fee, it wrote: “We agree that reforming the scope of the licence fee should be considered to support the BBC’s long‑term sustainability.”

Finally, it noted: “The BBC’s current funding model is unsustainable and requires reform.” It ended: “We are open to new funding models, provided they are fair, sustainable and futureproof, ensuring the BBC remains a service for everyone.”

It seems that under new management, the BBC may be taking a more open position in the hope of a better long-term settlement.

The select committee proceedings were watched live on YouTube by a peak live audience of precisely 63 viewers, including at least one reporting on them.

www.bbc.co.uk

MediaForEurope has announced plans for a single online video platform across its European markets by combining technology developed by its Italian and German businesses. The consolidated platform will continue to support national markets but aims to provide competition to global players like Netflix.

MFE, formerly known as Mediaset Group, runs television businesses in Italy and Spain and has its Infinity online service there. Last year it took control of German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1, which has developed the Joyn online platform.

The company will combine these to build a single platform for the countries in which it operates, with the rollout planned for January 2027.

“The front end will be the Italian one, while the supporting technology will be the German one,” Pier Silvio Berlusconi, the chief executive of MFE and son of the late Italian Prime Minister, said at a media event at the company headquarters in Milan.

The strategy for MFE is to consolidate local European broadcasters into a unified, independent broadcasting hub, while preserving local, original entertainment and live programming tailored to individual national audiences.

“We are not an international fast-food chain,” he said. “We cook up live programmes designed for individual countries. We have to do that with products that are born ‌on ⁠television and then move on to digital platforms.”

MFE is a European group with interests spanning free and pay television, radio, film, and online platforms. In Italy it owns Mediaset, which operates major national networks including Italia 1, Rete 4, and Canale 5. In Spain it owns Grupo Audiovisual Mediaset España, which runs channels like Cuatro and Telecinco. It also has a stake in the Portuguese media group Impresa. It now has a 75% stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media, which operates in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

www.mfemediaforeurope.com

The vast majority of viewing of broadcaster television programming as measured in the United Kingdom is on a television screen. That may be no great surprise, but in view of the time spent on mobile phones it may be something of a missed opportunity for broadcasters.

Data from the audience research organisation Barb shows total identified viewing in the United Kingdom. In May 2026 it amounted to an average of 213 minutes per day, or over three and a half hours. The total monthly reach was 62.1 million, or 95.6% of the population aged over four years old.

Of that total, Barb estimates 175 minutes or well over 80% was viewed on television sets, 22 minutes on phones, 8 minutes on computers, and 7 minutes on tablets.

Across all identified viewing, broadcasters accounted for 122 minutes a day, or just over two hours, or about 57% of all viewing. That includes time spent watching broadcast channels and online video services operated by broadcasters. It includes live viewing, viewing before and after broadcast, and viewing of library programming on their online services. For tagged services it, including any online viewing regardless of whether it is through the home network.

The total monthly reach for broadcasters across all screens as 54.7 million people, of 84.2% of the population, which is still a fair number.

Of those 122 minutes, over 119 minutes were viewed on television. So, television is viewed on television, which makes sense. Yet perhaps it points to a missed opportunity, with less than a minute viewed on phones.

It may be that television is not really suitable for viewing on phones. Or perhaps broadcasters do not make it easy enough.

Yet it is a similar picture for other online video subscription and advertiser supported platforms. Barb measures 19 such services but only includes viewing through a home Wi-Fi network. On that basis, it amounts to 40 minutes a day, with over 36 minutes viewed on television.

Compare that with total sharing of video sharing services like YouTube, TikTok and Twitch. They are watched for an average of approaching 20 minutes a day out of over 50 minutes a day viewing such services, slightly less than how much they are watched on television. That slightly misleading, as Barb only measures video sharing services when they are viewed through a home network, so does not count any out of home viewing.

It is not simply that video sharing services are necessarily watched by different demographics. Their combined monthly reach is just under 50 million people in the United Kingdom, of 76.8% of the population, not far behind broadcast viewing.

The difference may be that video sharing services were designed to be viewed online, even if nearly 40% of their viewing as measured by Barb is now on a television screen. In reality, much more viewing of online video sharing services is likely to be on personal screens outside the home.

Some broadcasters seem to think the answer is to make their programming available on video sharing platforms like YouTube. Perhaps they might consider if collectively they can only account for less than a minute a day of mobile viewing why that will make a significant difference.

www.barb.co.uk