385: Can the BBC Survive Without the Licence Fee?

The UK government has announced that the TV licence fee is to be frozen, with the BBC's funding reviewed to establish a new income model. What are the implications of this to the organization? Why did the BBC not see this coming? Could it make changes now to mitigate the impact of the changes? Why was the youth-oriented BBC Three returned to broadcast TV when its audience consumes TV almost wholly through apps? Will the BBC survive a government-mandated desire to tighten its belt in order to compete with the modern world? Christian Cawley and James McLean consider what we know so far, and speculate on what might yet happen to the BBC post-licence fee.