BBC Crisis: TV Licence Fee Evasion Hits 30-Year High

The BBC is losing half a billion pounds a year to licence fee dodgers – and it’s getting worse.

The corporation’s latest Annual Report for 2024/25 reveals record evasion levels, a dramatic surge in enforcement visits, and a funding model under unprecedented strain.

Despite collecting more money than ever before, fewer people are actually paying, while millions more are legally walking away from the licence fee altogether.

Meanwhile, BBC iPlayer is booming, young viewers are abandoning traditional TV in droves, and the clock is ticking towards the 2027 Charter renewal that could reshape how we fund public service broadcasting forever.

Here’s what the numbers published today reveal about the BBC’s fight for survival in the streaming era.

Licence Fee Income Up, But Fewer People Are Paying

Despite a shrinking pool of licence fee payers, the BBC’s coffers have actually grown this year. Total licence fee income reached £3.8 billion in 2024/25, a 5% increase from the £3.66 billion collected the previous year.

This financial boost isn’t because more people are buying licences – quite the opposite.

The number of TV Licences in force fell to 23.8 million, down from 24.1 million last year. That’s 300,000 fewer households contributing to the BBC’s funding pot.

So why the income increase? It’s all down to the price hike.

In April 2024, after a two-year freeze, the cost of a TV Licence jumped by 6.6% to £169.50. And there’s more to come – the price has already risen again to £174.50 as of April 2025.

Understanding Evasion vs “No Licence Needed”

Before diving into the numbers, it’s important to understand the difference between licence fee evasion and legitimate non-payment:

Licence Fee Evasion is when someone watches or records live TV broadcasts or uses BBC iPlayer without a valid licence. This is illegal and can result in prosecution, fines of up to £1,000, and even jail time in extreme cases.

“No Licence Needed” (NLN) declarations are made by households that genuinely don’t watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer. These households are legally entitled to watch on-demand content from services like Netflix or Disney+ without a licence, as long as they’re not watching live.

 

Evasion Rate Hits New Record High – Again

In the 2024/25 annual report, the BBC now estimates that licence fee evasion stands at 12.52%, up from a restated 12.04% in 2023/24. This represents around £550 million in lost income.

This continues the alarming trend we reported on last year, when evasion had already hit its highest level in nearly three decades. The situation has only deteriorated further, with each percentage point increase representing tens of millions in lost funding.

Last year, the BBC reported the 2023/24 evasion rate as 11.30%, but they’ve now restated this figure to 12.04%. Why the change? The BBC has switched how it calculates the proportion of households watching licensable content.

This means the year-on-year figures are now comparable, but they’re different from what was reported in last year’s annual statement.

For two consecutive years now, evasion has exceeded 12% – a level not seen since 1995 – and represents a worrying trend for the broadcaster.

The BBC isn’t taking this lying down. TV Licensing visiting officers conducted nearly 2 million visits to unlicensed homes in 2024/25 – a dramatic 50% increase compared to the previous year.

The number of visiting officers also increased, with the average force now standing at 229, up from 172 in 2023/24.

Why Evasion Is Increasing

The BBC’s own analysis points to several factors driving the increase in evasion:

Reduced consumption of licensable content: Households watching fewer BBC programmes and live TV are less likely to see value in purchasing a licence.

As BBC Director-General Tim Davie noted in June, “It’s the people who don’t care that I’m more worried about” – referring to those who have simply switched off from BBC content altogether.

Misunderstanding of what the licence fee covers: Some households don’t realise that the TV Licence doesn’t just fund BBC content, but is required for watching any live TV.

Economic pressures: With the cost-of-living crisis still affecting many households, some may be choosing to evade the licence fee due to financial hardship.

Changing media consumption: The continuing shift towards on-demand viewing, particularly among younger audiences, means fewer people are consuming content that legally requires a licence.

“No Licence Needed” Declarations Continue to Climb

While evasion is concerning for the BBC, the growing number of households legally declaring they don’t need a licence is perhaps even more worrying for the broadcaster’s long-term future.

In 2024/25, TV Licensing recorded 3.6 million “No Licence Needed” declarations – an increase of 0.3 million (10.5%) compared to 2023/24.

This increase was actually slower than the previous year’s jump of 16.2%, which the BBC attributes to changing its NLN policy to require more regular declarations as well as enhanced retention and marketing activities.

If all these NLN households were to purchase a licence, it would generate an additional £617 million for the BBC – more than the estimated loss from evasion.

Changing Viewing Habits Reshape the Market

The proportion of UK households watching content that legally requires a licence – now called the “Reach of Licensable Content” rather than the “TV Penetration Rate” – has fallen to 89.96%, down from 91.45% last year.

Young audiences in particular have continued to drift away from broadcast TV.

The BBC reported that its weekly reach among 16-34 year olds dropped to 67% in 2024/25, down from 71% the previous year.

These viewers are spending 44% of their video time on global video sharing platforms like YouTube and TikTok, and 29% on subscription services like Netflix, leaving just 27% for UK broadcasters combined.

Financial Challenges and Commercial Bright Spots

In his foreword to this year’s report, Davie painted a stark picture of the financial reality: despite the recent licence fee increases, the BBC’s income in real terms has plummeted by around 30% since 2010/11.

The BBC’s commercial operations provide a bright spot, with BBC Commercial delivering record sales of £2.2 billion. Yet even this commercial success isn’t enough to plug the growing funding gap.

To address these financial challenges, the BBC has implemented significant cost-cutting measures.

The broadcaster has achieved £564 million in savings since 2022/23, working toward a £700 million annual recurring savings target by March 2028.

BBC iPlayer Thrives in Digital-First Strategy

While traditional TV viewing is under pressure, BBC iPlayer is thriving. It was the UK’s fastest-growing long-form video-on-demand platform in 2024/25, with nearly 10% more requests than the previous year.

The success of BBC iPlayer reflects the broadcaster’s increasing focus on digital content.

In 2024/25, 22% of weekly average viewing of BBC content was through iPlayer, up from 17% the previous year. The BBC is working to strengthen its online services, with 200 new roles created specifically to enhance its digital services.

Supporting Those Struggling to Pay

The BBC has expanded its support for those facing financial hardship. Since 2020, it has offered the Simple Payment Plan, which allows eligible customers to pay for their TV licence in smaller, equal instalments across a 12-month period.

In January 2025, the BBC successfully launched a new automated link with the Department for Work and Pensions to streamline the process for checking if over-75s are entitled to free licences due to pension credit.

Between January and March 2025, this link was used to check eligibility over 50,000 times.

Following a successful trial in late 2024, the BBC is also planning to expand the eligibility criteria for the Simple Payment Plan in 2025-26, enabling a wider range of debt-advice organisations (including local authorities) to provide referrals.

This is expected to bring around 9,000 additional customers per month onto the plan.

The Future of BBC Funding

With the current Royal Charter due to expire in December 2027, the BBC is actively preparing for discussions about its future funding model.

In March 2025, the broadcaster launched “Our BBC, Our Future” – its biggest ever public consultation exercise, which has already received more than 870,000 responses.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport expects to publish its terms of reference for the Charter review and options for consultation in Autumn 2025, with a final proposal for the next Charter period due by Summer 2026.

Tim Davie has previously stated that he does not want “the same system exactly to go out again,” suggesting a more progressive approach where wealthier households would pay more than poorer ones – similar to council tax bands.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who previously called the current licence fee “deeply regressive,” has ruled out funding the BBC through general taxation.

This suggests that while changes are coming, a complete overhaul of the funding model is unlikely.

What This Means For You

For now, the TV Licence remains mandatory for anyone watching live TV or using BBC iPlayer, with the current system guaranteed until December 2027. But the signs of change are unmistakable.

The BBC is clearly caught in a challenging transition – trying to maintain its traditional broadcasting services while accelerating its digital transformation to meet changing audience preferences.

The fact that 94% of UK adults still use BBC services each month shows its enduring value, but the growing resistance to the licence fee suggests the current funding model may not be sustainable in the long term.

For more news about TV and streaming, Subscribe to our free newsletter.