Andrew Neil has called for the current BBC licence fee to be scrapped and replaced with a hybrid subscription model.
The former BBC presenter, who left the Corporation for rival start-up GB News before dramatically quitting the new station over its ‘anti-woke’ tone, said the broadcaster should be open-minded about changes to its funding model.
He told the Times that the £159 licence fee should instead be switched to a ‘two-tier’ model of guaranteed public funding and subscription, in a bid to secure the BBC’s long-term future.
Arguing it was ‘hard to use the licence fee to pay huge salaries’, Neil said: ‘The licence fee is… an asset because it’s guaranteed money, but it comes with a price’.
‘Market economics are finally hitting the BBC,’ Neil told the paper, pointing to licence fee cuts. ‘The situation is systematic.’
Neil, 72, suggested that the public funding should be used to resource news, current affairs and the arts. The other half of the BBC’s income should be generated through a subscription video service, which would host programmes like Line Of Duty and Strictly Come Dancing.
The idea of a hybrid funding model has gained traction among Tory MPs as the future of the BBC’s licence fee is called into question.
Nadine Dorries, Boris Johnson’s gung-ho culture secretary, hit the Corporation with a two-year licence freeze, with her allies warning that ‘the days of state-run television are over’.
Andrew Neil has called for the current BBC licence fee to be scrapped and replaced with a hybrid subscription model
The former BBC presenter, who left the Corporation for rival start-up GB News before dramatically quitting the new station over its ‘anti-woke’ tone, said the broadcaster should be open-minded about changes to its funding model
Tense negotiations between the Government and the BBC over the cost of the annual fee until the end of 2027 have concluded, with Dorries deciding to hold the licence at £159 for the next two years.
Officials calculate that – due to inflation currently running at 5.1 per cent – the Corporation will have to find savings of more than £2billion over the next six years.
However, Dorries is also considering pegging future fee increases below inflation between 2024 and the end of the current Royal Charter on December 31, 2027 – meaning the savings the BBC must make could end up being even higher.
At that point, if the Conservatives are still in power, the licence fee is likely to be replaced by a new funding model which reflects the growing domination of subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The move comes after a series of rows with Ministers over the Corporation’s alleged Left-wing bias, including its coverage of the Partygate drama that had gripped Westminster before Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Former media minister John Whittingdale supports a two-tier model, and Damian Collins, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, said archive programming and international services could supplement a ‘core BBC’.
However, the potential change in funding remains controversial, with former Question Time presenter David Dimbleby suggesting that a flat fee would punish the poorest.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We actively look forward to the national debate on the next Charter and, of course, all options should be considered. The BBC is owned by the public and their voice must be heard when it comes to determining the BBC’s future.’
Neil is to host a Sunday night political show for Channel 4 which will examine the ‘biggest events of the moment’ during the live ten-part series.
The half-hour weekly programme, which has a working title of Sunday Politics with Andrew Neil, will air in May.
Neil said he was ‘honoured and delighted’ to present the show at what is ‘a pivotal point in the political week’.
Neil was a BBC political broadcaster for decades, presenting This Week, Daily Politics and BBC One’s Sunday Politics. He left after his show was cancelled.
Neil’s career as a political presenter and interviewer has spanned three decades, and he is the chairman and editor-in-chief of Press Holdings Media Group, publishers of The Spectator and other related titles.
He stepped down as the chairman and host of a prime-time show on GB News last year.
Appearing on the BBC’s Question Time in September, Neil said ‘more and more differences’ had emerged between him and station bosses at GB News and he felt he was in a ‘minority of one’ about its future.
Nadine Dorries, Boris Johnson’s gung-ho culture secretary, hit the Corporation with a two-year licence freeze, with her allies warning that ‘the days of state-run television are over’
He also added that the launch of GB News could not be described as a ‘startling success’.
It comes as Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel jumped ship for LBC in a golden handcuffs deal expected to earn them a huge pay rise and allow the pair ‘to be more expressive in their personal views’.
The veteran journalists caused disarray at Broadcasting House after deciding to join Leicester Square-based Global, which is also home to Nick Ferrari, Eddie Mair, Shelagh Fogarty and James O’Brien.
Maitlis, who hosted Newsnight, has had a series of impartiality complaints against her because of her tweets and on-air comments about the pandemic, the Tory Government and the PM’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings.
Tellingly perhaps, Andrew Marr is said to have admitted he was prompted to leave the BBC because of his desire to speak freely on major issues, including climate change and politics.
BBC brain drain continues as Emily Maitlis AND Jon Sopel depart for LBC in deal expected to earn them bump on their £325,000 and £235,000 salaries and give them greater freedom to share views
The BBC brain drain continued as Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel followed Andrew Marr and jumped ship for LBC in a golden handcuffs deal expected to earn them a huge pay rise and allow the pair ‘to be more expressive in their personal views’, insiders told MailOnline.
The veteran journalists have caused disarray at Broadcasting House after deciding to join Leicester Square-based Global, which is also home to Nick Ferrari, Eddie Mair, Shelagh Fogarty and James O’Brien.
Maitlis, who hosted Newsnight, has had a series of impartiality complaints against her because of her tweets and on-air comments about the pandemic, the Tory Government and Boris Johnson’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings.
Tellingly perhaps, Andrew Marr is said to have admitted he was prompted to leave the BBC because of his desire to speak freely on major issues, including climate change and politics. Andrew Neil and Simon McCoy have also left the BBC in the past year.
BBC veterans Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel are leaving the corporation to join Global, the owners of LBC, to front a new show and a podcast
The deal, for a new show and podcast, is likely to lead to a salary uplift for Sopel and Maitlis, who earn at least £235,000 and £325,000 respectively at the BBC, according to the corporation’s annual accounts.
One LBC insider told MailOnline that Ms Maitlis will now be on ‘at least’ £400,000-a-year, with Mr Sopel likely to be through the £300,000-a-year barrier, but it ‘could be more’ because of the number of projects they will work on together.
Leaving the BBC will also allow them to pursue more cash from speaking events and private functions worth another £50,000 annually, another insider said, adding: ‘I think it’s the potent appeal of money and freedom to be more expressive in their personal views than the BBC allows’.
The deal will see them front a major new podcast for Global Player, as well as hosting a show together on LBC and providing commentary and analysis for lbc.co.uk as more on-screen talent drains from the BBC.
Sopel and Maitlis have been at the BBC for decades and are on big money, £235,000 and £325,000 respectively
Former Head of BBC Television News, Roger Mosey, said today: ‘LBC has always had great broadcasters, but it’s still extraordinary to have these kind of talent moves from the BBC. The most interesting things in audio are definitely no longer a BBC monopoly’.
In another blow for the corporation, Mr Sopel, the longstanding reporter and North America editor who has worked for the BBC since 1983, was the favourite to replace Laura Kuenssberg as Political Editor until his shock decision to leave.
It comes amid a ‘brain drain’ at the BBC, which is facing a £1.4billion hole in its finances after the licence fee was frozen until 2024. An analysis by The Times found that journalists with more than 1,000 years of experience have departed over the past two years, including senior editors and reporters.
Ms Maitlis announced her departure days after her agenda-setting interview with Prince Andrew contributed to him settling with Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
