BBC

===Revenue===
{{See also|Television licence|Television licensing in the United Kingdom}}

The principal means of funding the BBC is through the television licence, costing £169.50 per year per household since April 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ23|title=How much does a TV Licence cost? – TV Licensing ™|website=www.tvlicensing.co.uk|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717184925/https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ23|archive-date=17 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Such a licence is required to legally receive broadcast television across the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. No licence is required to own a television used for other means, or for sound only radio sets (though a separate licence for these was also required for non-TV households until 1971). The cost of a television licence is set by the government and enforced by the criminal law. A discount is available for households with only black-and-white television sets. A 50% discount is also offered to people who are registered blind or severely visually impaired,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/blindseverely-sight-impaired-aud5|title=Blind/severely sight impaired|publisher=TV Licensing|date=1 April 2000|access-date=15 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122104842/http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/blindseverely-sight-impaired-aud5|archive-date=22 November 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and the licence is completely free for any household containing anyone aged 75 or over. However, from August 2020, the licence fee will only be waived if over 75 and receiving pension credit.<ref name="TV Licensing Over 75 TV Licences">{{cite web |url=https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/age?wt.mc_id=bbc_pr_o75_english |title=Important information about over 75 TV Licences |publisher=TV Licensing |access-date=5 April 2020 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923163448/https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/age?wt.mc_id=bbc_pr_o75_english |url-status=live }}</ref>

The BBC pursues its licence fee collection and enforcement under the trading name "TV Licensing". The revenue is collected privately by Capita, an outside agency, and is paid into the central government [[Consolidated Fund]], a process defined in the [[Communications Act 2003]]. Funds are then allocated by the [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]] (DCMS) and the Treasury and approved by Parliament via legislation. Additional revenues are paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to compensate for subsidised licences for eligible over-75-year-olds.

The licence fee is classified as a tax,<ref name="Select Committee 20060303">{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldbbc/128/128i.pdf |title=Further Issues for BBC Charter Review |access-date=15 August 2008 |website=House of Lords Session Report |publisher=The Stationery Office Limited |date=3 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320052437/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldbbc/128/128i.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> and its evasion is a criminal offence. Since 1991, collection and enforcement of the licence fee has been the responsibility of the BBC in its role as TV Licensing Authority.<ref name="KeyFacts">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/licencefee.shtml |title=Key Facts, The TV Licence Fee |access-date=31 July 2008 |website=BBC Web Site |publisher=BBC Press Office |date=April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708154449/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/licencefee.shtml |archive-date=8 July 2007 }}</ref> The BBC carries out surveillance (mostly using subcontractors) on properties (under the auspices of the [[Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000]]) and may conduct searches of a property using a search warrant.<ref name="BBC25AUG2006">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/foi/docs/freedom_of_information/selected_requests_and_responses/2006/SR2006000476_TV_Licence_Search_Warrants.pdf |title=BBC response to Freedom of Information request – RFI 2006000476 |date=25 August 2006 |website=bbc.co.uk/foi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413163405/http://www.bbc.co.uk/foi/docs/freedom_of_information/selected_requests_and_responses/2006/SR2006000476_TV_Licence_Search_Warrants.pdf |archive-date=13 April 2008 }}</ref> According to TV Licensing, 216,900 people in the UK were caught watching TV without a licence in 2018/19.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/ss/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=content-type&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1370006520458&ssbinary=true |title=TV Licensing Annual Review 2018/19 |publisher=Tvlicensing.co.uk |access-date=5 April 2020 |archive-date=30 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730191533/https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/ss/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=content-type&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1370006520458&ssbinary=true |url-status=live }}</ref> Licence fee evasion makes up around one-tenth of all cases prosecuted in magistrates' courts, representing 0.3% of court time.<ref name="Perry reference BBC">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50800128 |title=BBC: TV licence fee decriminalisation being considered |work=BBC News |date=15 December 2019 |access-date=5 April 2020 |archive-date=21 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221083515/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50800128 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Income from commercial enterprises and from overseas sales of its catalogue of programmes has substantially increased over recent years,<ref>{{cite web | title = Annual Report and Accounts 2004–2005 | url = http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/pdf/2004-05/bbc_2004_05.pdf | author = BBC | page = 94 | access-date = 16 May 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120119172042/http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/pdf/2004-05/bbc_2004_05.pdf | archive-date = 19 January 2012 | url-status = live }}</ref> with [[BBC Worldwide]] contributing some £243&nbsp;million to the BBC's core public service business.<ref name="BBC Annual Report 2018/19" />

According to the BBC's 2018/19 Annual Report, its total income was £4.889&nbsp;billion a decrease from £5.062&nbsp;billion in 2017/18 – partly owing to a 3.7% phased reduction in government funding for free over-75s TV licences,<ref name="BBC Annual Report 2018/19">{{cite web |title=BBC Annual Report 2018/19 |url=http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/annualreport/2018-19.pdf |publisher=BBC |date=July 2019 |access-date=5 April 2020 |page=133; 91 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702140524/http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/annualreport/2018-19.pdf |archive-date=2 July 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> which can be broken down as follows:
* £3.690&nbsp;billion in licence fees collected from householders;
* £1.199&nbsp;billion from the BBC's commercial businesses and government grants some of which will cease in 2020

The licence fee has, however, attracted criticism. It has been argued that in an age of multi-stream, multi-channel availability, an obligation to pay a licence fee is no longer appropriate. The BBC's use of private sector company [[Capita Group]] to send letters to premises not paying the licence fee has been criticised, especially as there have been cases where such letters have been sent to premises which are up to date with their payments, or do not require a TV licence.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/09/22/ftlicence22.xml | title = Why am I being hounded like this? | newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]] | date = 22 September 2006 | access-date = 6 February 2008 | location = London | first = Simon | last = Heffer | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071117105208/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2006%2F09%2F22%2Fftlicence22.xml | archive-date = 17 November 2007 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The BBC uses advertising campaigns to inform customers of the requirement to pay the licence fee. Past campaigns have been criticised by [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP [[Boris Johnson]] and former MP [[Ann Widdecombe]] for having a threatening nature and language used to scare evaders into paying.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/05/26/do2602.xml |title=I won't pay to be abused by the BBC |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=26 May 2005 |access-date=6 February 2008 |location= London |first=Boris |last=Johnson |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070815114952/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fopinion%2F2005%2F05%2F26%2Fdo2602.xml |archive-date=15 August 2007 |url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/24455/BBC-bullies-shame-in-licence-fee-chaos |title=BBC bullies' shame in licence fee chaos | newspaper= Daily Express |location =London |date=7 November 2007 |access-date=6 February 2008 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120724095358/http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/24455/BBC-bullies-shame-in-licence-fee-chaos |archive-date=24 July 2012 | url-status=live }}</ref> Audio clips and television broadcasts are used to inform listeners of the BBC's comprehensive database.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/index.jsp |title=TV Licensing |publisher= [[TV Licensing]] |date= 2 June 2008 |access-date=6 February 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080207185717/http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/index.jsp| archive-date=7 February 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> There are a number of pressure groups campaigning on the issue of the licence fee.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.spiderbomb.com/tv/ | title = Example of Licence Fee pressure group | publisher=Campaign to Abolish the Licence Fee | date =  2 June 2008 | access-date =6 February 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080220031124/http://www.spiderbomb.com/tv/| archive-date= 20 February 2008 | url-status=live}}</ref>

The majority of the BBC's commercial output comes from its commercial arm BBC Worldwide which sell programmes abroad and exploit key brands for merchandise. Of their 2012/13 sales, 27% were centred on the five key "superbrands" of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'', ''[[Strictly Come Dancing]]'' (known as ''[[Dancing with the Stars]]'' internationally), the BBC's archive of natural history programming (collected under the umbrella of [[BBC Earth]]) and the (now sold) travel guide brand [[Lonely Planet]].<ref name="BBC Worldwide 2012/13 review">{{cite web|title=Annual Review 2012/13|url=http://www.bbcworldwide.com/media/94807/bbc%20worldwide%20annual%20review%202012-13.pdf|publisher=BBC Worldwide|access-date=17 August 2013|page=34|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820040453/http://www.bbcworldwide.com/media/94807/bbc%20worldwide%20annual%20review%202012-13.pdf|archive-date=20 August 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>