'PC tax' could replace BBC licence fee
Wondered when they would start on PC users!
'PC tax' could replace BBC licence fee
March 03 2005
by Jo Best <mailto:editorial@silicon.com>
Digital piracy and media centres to blame...
The TV licence fee could eventually be axed and replaced by a tax on
personal computers, according to a new report from the Department for
Culture, Media and Sport.
In announcing the findings of the Whitehall's review of the BBC's
Charter, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell told ministers that the
government was content with the traditional licence - but only in the
short term.
"Although not perfect, we believe it remains the fairest way to fund the
BBC so it will continue throughout the next Charter. In the coming
months, we will have to decide on the right level for the fee after 2007
- but beyond that, we have to take account of the rapid advance in
technology and media consumption," she said.
"Over the next charter period we expect the BBC to play a substantial
part in developing a digital Britain," the Culture Secretary told the
Commons.
If alternative funding models get the go ahead, one idea being mooted by
the government is a fee payable for each PC purchased.
The green paper on the Charter review, published yesterday, suggests
that TV piracy may force the BBC into changing how the licence fee is
collected.
"In future, if a large number of people are downloading audio-visual
content from the internet, and watching it on their computers or mobile
phones, rather than using traditional TV and radio services, it may be
difficult to collect and enforce a licence fee based on television
ownership."
The green paper continues: "In that world, different funding models may
have to be considered. If the licence fee was to be retained, the means
of collecting it might have to be changed - so that it because, for
example, either a compulsory levy on all households or even on ownership
of PCs as well as TVs."
Much of what the government is predicting, however, is already a
reality. The UK now accounts for one-fifth of global piracy of
television, a recent report
<http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39127919,00.htm> found,
while O2 is trialling video-over-mobile and several operators are
already investing in HSDPA technology, which will facilitate TV-style
broadcasts to mobiles.
The BBC, which has recently been forced to prune its web presence,
declined to comment on the possibility, saying the issue of funding is
solely down to the government.
Nevertheless, the change could prove a lucrative one for the BBC.
Currently, there are 24.5 million TV licences in force, according to the
TV licensing authority. However, almost nine million PCs were sold in
the course of 2004 in the UK, according to analyst house Gartner, and
growth rates are rising fast, with a year-on-year increase of nearly 15
per cent.
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Originally Posted by rainbowcraft
