More than half a million households stopped paying the BBC licence fee over the past year, according to the corporation’s own annual report published today, marking the sharpest decline in payers since the pandemic. The drop leaves just 23.3 million people paying the fee, the lowest figure since 1999, as the broadcaster warns that its funding model is becoming increasingly unsustainable.
The BBC’s annual report shows the number of people not paying the licence fee grew by 539,000 over the past year, down from 23.8 million to 23.3 million payers. It is the steepest annual fall since the Covid pandemic, when numbers dropped by 738,000. The decline has also accelerated sharply compared with the previous year, when 300,000 fewer people purchased a licence between 2024 and 2025, suggesting the pace of losses has nearly doubled in the past twelve months.
A funding model under strain
According to the report, the licence fee, currently set at £180.50 per household, “remains insufficient to sustain a universal public service.” BBC executives have warned that financial pressures on the corporation are continuing to grow, with income from the fee falling again over the past year as a direct result of the decline in paying households. The broadcaster’s long-term funding future remains uncertain, with discussions over its funding model expected to continue as the current Royal Charter approaches its expiry in 2027. The report also points to the BBC’s ongoing efforts to expand its digital services, reflecting a wider shift among audiences away from traditional broadcast television and toward on-demand streaming.
Job losses to follow spending cuts
The figures come after the BBC’s director general, former Google executive Matt Brittin, 57, announced plans earlier this year to cut spending by £80million over the next two years. In an email to staff in June, Brittin warned that the savings would result in cancelled shows and job losses, though he did not provide specific details at the time, saying further information on the cuts would follow in the coming days.
The BBC expects around 2,000 roles to be lost over the next three years as part of the restructuring. Of these, roughly 550 positions are set to be cut from the corporation’s news and nations divisions, expected to generate around £160million in savings, while a further 700 roles will be cut from its corporate divisions, with the exact savings from that area not yet disclosed. Staff have been told that while compulsory redundancies are considered inevitable, the BBC will aim to avoid job losses wherever possible.
Star salaries revealed amid the cuts
Despite the corporation’s financial difficulties, its annual report also revealed that a number of its highest-profile presenters continue to earn substantial salaries, with 70 per cent of its top ten earners receiving pay rises over the past year. Scott Mills topped the list as the BBC’s highest earner, with his salary doubling to £750,000 shortly before he was dropped from his Radio 2 show amid a probe into alleged sex offences.
Elsewhere in the top five, Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan earned £430,000, while Vernon Kay and Laura Kuenssberg each received £410,000, with all three seeing pay increases. Football pundit Alan Shearer, currently working on World Cup coverage, saw his salary fall by £45,000 to £395,000, dropping him out of the top three earners. Radio 4’s Justin Webb moved up to seventh place after a £15,000 pay rise took his salary to £380,000, while BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty also received a £10,000 pay increase despite being involved in an ongoing bullying investigation. Rounding out the top ten were Question Time host Fiona Bruce on £350,000 and newsreader Sophie Raworth on £345,000.
