TV licence sales decline by 37,000 for the first time in ten years

TV licence sales decline by 37,000 for the first time in ten years as viewers abandon the BBC for streaming giants like Netflix

  • In 2018 – 19, 25,927,000 licences purchased in UK, a reduction of 37,000 
  • Comes in spite of the country’s rising population and after licence fee scandal 

TV licence sales have declined for the first time in ten years, as viewers abandon traditional television for streaming giants like Netflix.

In 2018 – 19, 25,927,000 licences were purchased in the UK, a reduction of 37,000 from the year before.

This loss comes in spite of the country’s rising population and in light of recent BBC controversy following the announcement that the corporation is scrapping free TV licences for the over-75s.

In 2018 – 19, 25,927,000 licences were purchased in the UK, a reduction of 37,000 from the year before

Director-general of the BBC Lord Hall said changing audience habits and a rise in popularity of streaming services had contributed to the fall, The Times reported.

In the UK, Netflix has 10 million subscribers and is pumping $15billion a year into making original content.

Netflix has also changed the way viewers consume content as habits are now tailored towards ‘binge-watching’ series in one go rather than weekly.

The BBC has tried to emulate this by releasing shows like Killing Eve in a single block on the iPlayer as well as releasing them every week.

Other services like Amazon Prime Video and Sky’s Now TV subscription service have also increased in popularity.

Viewing figures fell for every major BBC channel – except from BBC Parliament figures which rose due to public interest in Brexit.

The figures were released on the same day the BBC issued its list of top earners, which showed an increase in the number of presenters receiving salaries over £150,000.

Last year, the BBC had an operating surplus of £244 million but this year it revealed a deficit of £52 million.

This staggering decline can be attributed to falling DVD sales, the expensive World Cup coverage, and increased spending on the BBC’s digital platforms like the iPlayer and Sounds app.

BBC Studios, the Corporation’s profit-making arm, returned a profit of £243 million to the corporation.

This announcement comes as swathes of over-75s plan to withhold their licence fee next year when their free licences come to an end.

There are thought to be 1.8 million evaders which cost the corporation £270 million a year – something which is expected to increase in the next year.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘All broadcasters face challenges from global streaming giants, but with 91 per cent of UK adults using BBC services at least once a week, the BBC is more than holding its own.

‘We are doing better than even on BBC iPlayer, where we have had 3.6 billion programme requests, up 10 per cent on last year.’ 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk