BBC considers using iPlayer to catch out licence fee dodgers

Last year over £500m was lost due to licence fee evasion

The BBC is exploring plans to use data from its iPlayer platform to help identify households that are watching without a TV licence.

Under new proposals in development, people's online BBC accounts could be linked to their home addresses for the first time, giving TV Licensing a new tool to track potential evasion, Sky News reports.

Anyone who watches or records live television on any channel, or streams programmes on BBC iPlayer, is legally required to hold a TV licence, which currently costs £174.50 a year.

The corporation is responsible for collecting the fee and routinely sends targeted letters and emails to households it believes should be paying, but are not.

Concessions exist for people aged 75 or over who receive Pension Credit, blind viewers, residents of qualifying care homes who are disabled or over 60, and businesses offering overnight accommodation.

Failure to pay for a TV Licence can lead to a fine of up to £1,000.

A TV Licensing spokesperson told The Independent: “We always look at ways to improve how we collect the licence fee. This includes using the data available to us to get a better understanding of viewing habits and use of BBC services.”

The BBC noted that BBC online accounts are held by individuals, while a TV Licence covers everyone living as part of a household at an address. The organisation said it is working on ways to link individuals’ BBC accounts to households – a move they said would help them understand the value our customers get from the TV licence, and also identify where a TV licence may be needed.

The BBC raised £3.8bn from more than 23 million licences in 2024–25, but an estimated £550m was lost to evasion.

The plans to use iPlayer data to catch those evading paying the licence fee come immediately after Tim Davie, the outgoing director-general of the BBC, warned the corporation will be in “profound jeopardy” unless the current licence fee system is overhauled.

“We do want reform of the licence fee,” he said. “However, we’re not just about driving the amount we get from households higher.

“My biggest fears are that we just roll on and think it’s going to be OK. We don’t reform enough. At that point, we don’t get regulatory reform and more flexibility. That’s my biggest worry. And I think, if we don’t do that, we’re in trouble.”

The BBC’s licence fee model requires an overhaul, according to outgoing director-general Tim Davie (PA Archive)

Speaking about his concerns in an interview with The Guardian, Davie expressed reservations about the BBC moving to an advertising or subscription model, emphasising the importance of it remaining a “universal service”.

“The truth is, the jeopardy is high,” he continued. “The BBC has never really had profound jeopardy. What do I mean by that? It has, of course, had lots of drama and editorial crises in its time. But that’s actually not deathly jeopardy for the BBC.

“What represents deathly jeopardy for the BBC is if it’s not relevant … If we’re going to survive, we need permission to reform... we have got to stand up and fight for it.”