The TV licence fee is increasing from tomorrow for the first time in two years, with millions expected to be impacted.
From tomorrow, Monday, April 1 the licence fee will rise by 6.6 per cent to £169.50 a year, up from its current price of £159.
The rise is determined based on the inflation figure for September last year.
Meanwhile, the price of a black and white TV licence is increasing by £3.50 going from £53.50 to £57.
Lucy Frazer confirmed the new licence fee rise
PA
The new price was confirmed by the culture secretary Lucy Frazer in December last year.
In a statement to the House of Commons, the Culture secretary said the £10.50 hike would be "felt" by households but added that the BBC was facing "increasing pressure" due to "a rapidly changing media landscape".
According to BBC data, the total income from the licence fee in 2023 was £3.74billion, which accounted for about 65 per cent of the BBC's total income of £5.73billion.
The TV Licence fee had been frozen for two years in 2022 and in 2023. At the time, the Government hailed the announcement as giving "broadcaster certainty while protecting the public from price hikes".
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The BBC Licencing Fee has come into question in recent years
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It comes as BBC director-general Tim Davie has said the corporation will open its "biggest-ever consultation process" so the public can "inform and drive the debate" around the licence fee.
This has driven the broadcaster to reassess its priorities over the last year as it seeks to make £500million in savings.
Speaking at a Royal Television Society (RTS) event in London to discuss the future direction of the BBC and its role in the UK, Davie said they are planning to "proactively research" how they will reform the licence fee in 2028.
He added that he feels the licence fee "needs reform" in his view, but that he does regard it as a "precious" entity.
If you're caught watching live TV without a TV licence, then you may be fined £1,000 or be taken to court. The maximum fine is £2,000 in Guernsey.
In 2022, there were 40,220 convictions for licence fee evasion, with an average fine of £202.
According to TV Licensing annual 2022/23 review 90 per cent of households needing a TV licence had one. In the year leading to March 2023, 73,000 people were caught watching live TV without a licence and £137million had been spent on collecting the fees.
You cannot be sent to prison for licence fee evasion, but you can be imprisoned for failing to pay the resulting fine.
