Government to respond to licence fee petition after 18,000 sign

Summarised from Nottinghamshire Live's report · Updated 5 Nov, 08:06 · Archive

More than 18,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Government to abandon proposals to extend the TV licence fee to streaming services.

More than 18,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Government to abandon proposals to extend the TV licence fee to cover streaming services including YouTube and Netflix. The petition was initiated on 11 June 2026, as the BBC Charter Review examines how the public service broadcaster should be funded. Currently, the TV licence costs £180 annually from April 2026 and covers watching live television broadcasts and using BBC iPlayer.

The petitioner, Alec Burns, argues that expanding the licence fee during a cost-of-living crisis represents an unacceptable expansion of taxation rather than a way to save public money. He also contends that the move could further damage the BBC's reputation. Under Government petition rules, the administration must provide a written response now that the petition has exceeded 10,000 signatures.

Read the report

• Government issues TV licence fee statement after thousands sign petitionMore than 18,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Government to cancel its plans to extend the BBC TV licence fee to cover streaming services, as the BBC Charter Review continuesNottinghamshire Live · 5 Nov, 07:27

In this story: BBC · Government · Alec Burns · YouTube · Netflix

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