The BBC Licence fee

The BBC is funded by the licence fee, however this only covers access via a traditional household TV and has enabled audiences to watch BBC programming online through i-player and live streaming through the internet for free. 

This obviously has serious financial implications for the BBC - if people are not paying the licence fee because of this loop hole then cuts are necessary and this puts the future of the BBC in to question.

As of yesterday (September 1st 2016) The BBC have now made changes to cover this loop hole meaning that anyone streaming or downloading BBC content must now have a licence fee. See what the BBC have to say about this here


This is particularly relevant for the new and digital technology question in the exam. Think about some of the following:

• How has technological convergence impacted on audiences and institutions in this instance?
• How has cross media convergence impacted on audiences and institutions in this instance?