The cost of the TV licence fee is to rise again in the UK from April 1, it has been confirmed.
The fee is set by the UK Government. In 2016, it was announced that the fee would rise in line with inflation for five years from April 2017. The increase means that the annual fee will rise from £157.50 to £159.00 on April 1, an increase of less than 3p a week according to the broadcaster.
Those buying or renewing a licence before April 1 will pay the existing, lower fee. People who are paying for a licence through instalments, such as via a monthly direct debit, will continue to pay the lower price until their licence comes up for renewal.
Opposition has grown towards the BBC’s licence fee model in recent years, with increasing numbers of people using streaming services such as Netflix and Prime Video, to name a couple. Last year, there were also protests after the scrapping of free TV licences for all over-75s.
