The BBC has suggested the radical idea of opening up its iPlayer platform to rival public broadcasters, as the corporation seeks to find new ways of compelling millions more people to pay the license fee.
Firing the starting gun on a negotiation with the government that will set the BBC up for the next decade, the just-published 100-page charter review consultation document proposed “iPlayer could be opened to other [public service broadcasters] with support for their business models,” which could include their adverts or subscription offerings.
In effect, this would mean that consumers would be able to watch ITVX, Channel 4 or 5, the PSBs’ rival VoD services, via iPlayer. A similar suggestion was made regarding BBC Sounds hosting podcast content from third parties.
The BBC said “this could help ensure the UK retains a streaming platform that competes with global services and remains a first choice for audiences.” The BBC is already exploring hosting iPlayer advertising for Welsh-language broadcaster S4C and, in theory, could use this proprietary technology for ITV, Channel 4, and 5.
This does not mean the corporation will start placing ads on its own section of the iPlayer, it added. Greater collaboration has been on the agenda in the UK for a little while, but today’s charter blueprint is the first time the BBC has said it concretely. In this way, and through improved technology, it believes the public broadcaster can take on the might of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney.
On the other end of the spectrum, the BBC said “we will grow our own services but also increase distribution of our content ‘off platform’” in today’s document.
BBC Funding Vision
The idea was one of a number of “radical” suggestions floated in today’s charter renewal document, a response to the government’s green paper from several weeks back.
The main focus was on funding and how the BBC believes the corporation should make its money in a world of heightened competition and super inflation.
The BBC stressed that keeping the annual license fee is the way forwards, it said that while 94% of UK households watch the BBC in some form, only 80% pay for it. This leads to a gap of hundreds of millions of pounds each year which, if filled, would add to the £3.84B generated from the £175 license fee last year.
“Over the charter period the BBC has gone from being a service almost every household paid for and used to one that almost every household uses but millions do not pay for,” said the document, which added that there is a “disconnect between payment and value.”
The BBC suggested a number of ways in which that 14% gap could be filled, including clamping down on evasion, improving technology and informing the nation that they have to pay their license fee if they watch live content on other players like ITV, Channel 4 and even Netflix.
“A TV License is required to watch any live video content on streaming services or video sharing platforms,” said the document. “While this is an increasingly common behaviour it is not widely understood by audiences and there is little or no effort made by the services in question to inform them.”
Intriguingly, the BBC noted that if more people were compelled to pay, then it could even lower the license fee for the first time in its history. “A reformed model that requires more households to contribute at a lower cost could strengthen fairness and sustainability while preserving universal access to high-quality, trusted services.”
While not stating this as a firm demand, we understand the BBC is querying whether people could be forced to pay their annual fee if they simply watch shows and movies on the American streamers in the UK on-demand. This would involve a shift in the way in which people are ordered to pay their license fee, which has been the bedrock of BBC funding for the broadcaster’s plus-100-year existence.
The BBC rejected other suggestions for funding such as a subscription model (“a subscription BBC would mean a very different BBC”) and carrying ads (“we have well-founded and longstanding concerns”).
The BBC also pushed back on the notion of a hybrid subscription model, saying this “risks cannibalising more licence fee income than it generates in subscription, creating a downward funding spiral.”
All roads therefore lead to the continuation of the license fee, although the BBC insisted this needs total reform. “The current funding model is unsustainable,” concluded the charter document. “We are open to new funding models providing they are fair, sustainable and futureproof, ensuring the BBC remains a service to everyone. We are willing to consider radical options.”