Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly considering making people pay the TV license fee even if they only use streaming services.

The move would be part of the Government’s plans to change the way the public-service broadcaster is funded, Bloomberg

Anonymous sources familiar with the matter claimed to the outlet that the Prime Minister’s office, the Treasury, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are discussing a list of options.

Other funding options reportedly include allowing the BBC to show adverts, making BBC radio listeners pay a fee, and taxing streaming services.

Ministers could also create a tier system so lower-income households pay less than their higher-income counterparts, or make iPlayer viewers pay a subscription fee.

With a few minor adjustments and better enforcement, the license fee could also be left largely the same, according to a source who said it would’ve already been scrapped if there was a feasible alternative.

The DCMS refused to comment on “speculation”, but told the Express: “We will provide more details about charter review plans in due course.”

This comes as viewing habits change in favour of streaming services and the BBC‘s current 11-year charter is due to end in 2027.

The current license fee is £169.50 a year and anyone watching or streaming live programmes and any BBC programme on iPlayer must pay one. Only those watching on-demand, non-BBC content are exempt from the fee.

The fee generated a staggering £3.66billion during the 2023/24 period.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she’d “already started initial discussions with the BBC leadership about the Charter Review”, which will “future-proof our national broadcaster until well into the latter half of this century”.

She also confirmed that the Government is not considering funding the BBC through general taxation.