The BBC licence fee will go up next year – from an annual fee of £159 to £169.50.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer also told MPs she was launching a review of the BBC’s funding model as she announced the 6.7% increase.

The fee had been frozen and was set to increase by 9% from April 2024, meaning a hike of around £15.

However, Ms Frazer has settled for a smaller £10.50 rise.

The rise is based on the consumer prices index (CPI) inflation rate from September.

The culture secretary said the licence fee would now increase annually in line with CPI.

“The government is committed to supporting families as much as possible during these difficult times,” she said.

BBC licence fee: Minister ‘concerned’ planned rise is ‘very high’ amid reports it could be scrapped

University Challenge episode pulled after disabled contestants complain about accessibility provisions

BBC Newsnight to be cut to 30 minutes and lose more than half its staff

“We recognise bill rises are never welcome and family budgets remain under pressure.”

Mr Frazer said the fee was being “kept as low as possible” and that the upcoming rise amounted to an extra 88p a month.

She said the BBC was already feeling the impact of people cancelling their TV licence, with 400,000 fewer taken out last year, and 1.7 million fewer compared with 2017-18.

There have long been questions over the future of the fee, with many subscribing to monthly services such as as Netflix and regular TV viewing declining.

Mr Frazer appeared to indicate that a major change is not far away.

“Reach and viewing of broadcast TV fell significantly in 2022 with reach falling from 83% in 2021 to 79% in 2022,” she said.

“As this trend continues, linking the TV licence to watching live TV will be increasingly anachronistic as audience viewing habits continue to move to digital and on-demand media.

“We know that if we want the BBC to succeed we cannot freeze its income but at the same time we cannot ask households to pay more for the BBC indefinitely.”

She said the government was supporting the BBC to “realise commercial opportunities which will make it more financially sustainable”.

Related posts:

Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song reveal poignant name of their new baby Edinburgh International Festival announces outdoor return F9 sees highest grossing opening weekend of the post-pandemic era in US Britney asks court to end father’s role in controlling her money Jennifer Aniston leads tributes as James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther in Friends, dies at 59 Richard Madeley taken to hospital after falling ill on I’m A Celebrity set Peter Andre’s house ‘struck by lightning’ as thunderstorms batter southern England Artist takes pop at Cardi B over ‘appropriated’ sexy Marge Simpson image ‘Anybody that says words hurt has never been punched in the face’: Chris Rock on being slapped by Will Smith Actress leaves Strictly Come Dancing for ‘personal reasons’ K-pop band accidentally wear old Glasgow Rangers shirts to perform Texas show LadBaby won’t run for a sixth Christmas No 1