The Government said there were “clear challenges” involved in keeping the telly tax ahead of a landmark review of BBC funding.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries yesterday warned BBC bosses: “The licence fee model was introduced in 1946. Time has moved on.”
Her 42-page White Paper announcing the shake-up tore into the licence fee for criminalising people who refuse to pay.
It also pointed out that fewer and fewer people want to pay for BBC programmes in an on-demand age of Netflix and Prime.
While Ms Dorries has not settled on a plan to future fund the BBC a decision is due in time for its renewal in 2027.
But she assured The Spectator’s Women with Balls podcast that the “completely outdated” £159-a-year funding model would be redesigned.
The Culture Secretary is also revealing how ministers plan to privatise Channel 4 and ensure firms create “distinctly British” shows in a new broadcasting whitepaper