BBC spending: What does the BBC spend its money on?
THE BBC this week announced plans to axe BBC-funded free TV licences for 3.7million over-75s, and this decision has been met with anger. So what does the BBC spend its money on?
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Hundreds of thousands of people have signed petitions calling on the BBC to rethink the decision to axe BBC-funded TV licences for millions of over-75s. From June 1, 2020, 3.7million pensioners will lose their right to a free TV licence. TV licences from June 2020 will be means tested, meaning that the licences will only be free for those receiving Pension Credit.
Those affected will have to pay the annual £154.50 fee to legally watch TV and use the iPlayer catch up service.
At the time of the announcement on Monday, BBC chairman David Clementi said it had been a “very difficult decision”.
He said: “We think it’s fair to those over 75 but also to all our audiences for whom there was no appetite for the level of cuts that would have been necessary if the concession had been extended.
“There are people for whom this will be unwelcome news, who have not paid until now but will do so.”
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There are three petitions which have taken off in response to the decision, one, Age UK’s petition, calls on the government to return to funding free licence fees for the over-75s.
This petition has already achieved more than 430,000 signatures.
Another 128,000 people have signed a petition on the Parliament website calling on the universal benefit to continue - breaching the 100,000 level needed for it to be considered for a debate.
The third calls for the licence fee to be abolished entirely because it is “too expensive” and has attracted more than 186,000 supporters.
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So what does the BBC spend its money on?
The BBC Annual Report and Accounts for 2017/18 shows what the corporation spends its money on. The following is spent on TV:
- BBC One- £1.2bn
- BBC Two- £481.2 million
- BBC Four- £52.3 million
- CBBC- £96.1 million
- CBeebies - £43.4 million
- BBC ALBA- £10.7 million
- BBC News Channel - £68.2 million
- BBC Parliament - £10.1 million
- The BBC pays a combined £655.6 million for radio, that includes Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4 and services in Scotland and Wales.
- The cost for the BBC Online website and the red button service is £290.3 million.
- Some of the other services the BBC spends money on are as follows:
- Orchestras and performing groups - £32.2 million
- Development Spend - £57.3 million
- BBC World Service Grant - £70.5 million
- BBC World Service Operating Licence - £268.3 million
- Building a new EastEnders Albert Square set - £86 million
In retaliation to the announcement, scores of people have taken to Twitter to announce they have cancelled their own TV licences.
One wrote: “I’ve cancelled my BBC licence, after what they’ve done to the over 75s… Utterly disgusted.”
Another said: “Just cancelled by @BBC TV licence and disconnected my aerial in response to the @BBC poor decision to cancel tv licence fee waiver for the over 75s!”