'Not viable!' Britons snub BBC as 2.8 million revolt against licence fee

The latest figure is an increase of more than 360,000 on the previous twelve months.

It will also raise further questions about the financing model behind the UK's national broadcaster.

Toby Young, the Founder and Director of the Free Speech Union, told MailOnline: "These figures show that the TV licence fee is not a viable funding model for the BBC going forward."

He added: "The obvious alternative is to become a subscription-based service like Netflix and Amazon Prime."

"Given the BBC’s global brand recognition and its reputation for producing premium content, it could become the largest and most profitable streaming service in the world."

A drop in compliance inevitably carries financial ramifications for the BBC.

TV Licensing last year revealed a drop in licence fees collected of 420,000.

The BBC raked in £3,741 million from the licence fee last year.

The figure stood at £3,800 million in the previous year.

Licence fee evasion is also causing the BBC problems, with the issue costing £430 a million a year.

The BBC is having to deal with financial pressures by cutting services.

The Government added further pressure by freezing the licence fee for two years from 2022.

A BBC spokesperson said: "The overwhelming majority of households – approximately 9 out of 10 – are licensed and receive brilliant BBC programming and services across TV, radio and online for 44p a day. Licence fee revenue is holding up well and has fallen by just 1.6 per cent in the last year despite the pressures of increased choice in the market and the rising cost of living faced by all media organisations.

"Our focus is ensuring we continue to find new ways to serve all audiences. The licence fee is the agreed method of funding until at least 2027 and ensures the BBC is an independent, universal broadcaster, which invests in UK creativity and talent. We welcome a debate on whether the licence fee needs to evolve for the future."