The cash strapped BBC is failing to recover tens of millions of pounds for broadcasters by not having an up to date strategy on licence evaders.
A report by the National Audit Office was released just before the government, on September 1, gave the Corporation new powers to raise licence fees from people who watch programmes through on demand videos on iPlayer.
The audit office examined the BBC’s licence evasion strategy and concluded that it needed to update it and get accurate figures on how many people were watching TV on their computers, Ipads and mobile phones and no longer had a TV set. Others used game consules.
Figures in the report estimated that the BBC may lose £34m a year by not monitoring the rapidly growing group watching iPlayer on their computers, up from 1.6m a day in 2009 to 8m now.
The BBC claim that this is still a small proportion of people – though their own survey shows that 79 per cent of 16-24 year olds are now more likely to watch TV on other devices than a TV set. The figure for 25 to 34 year olds is 53 per cent.
The findings also questioned whether the BBC was losing money by not collecting enough licence fees from students, military personnel, lodgers and second home owners.
The audit office estimated that while most students did not need a licence for watching TV because they went home during the vacations the BBC still only collected licence fees from half the number of students who should pay – some 22,000 out of 43,000.
The BBC, while acknowledging the shortfall, defended their decision not to concentrate on these evaders. The BBC was also found by the NAO to use forms that had not been changed for 15 years when they visited licence evaders referring only to TV sets. These have now been changed.
The BBC said: “Students in halls of residence make up fewer than 1 per cent of addresses needing a licence, and fewer than 10 per cent of them need a licence. Students who normally live with their parents in the holidays will be covered by their parents’ licence at university if they watch live TV on a device which is not plugged into the mains e.g. a laptop or mobile phone.”
“The BBC will seek independent assurance where there are substantive changes to the model. In addition, we will assess how we deal with those likely to evade as a result of changing technology and audience behavior… but to put this in context, these groups make up 1.15 % of the licensable base.”
Since the new law came into force the BBC has pledged not to use mass surveillance or check IP addresses if people use computers to watch TV.said: “The dignified and patient Orgreave campaigners deserve much better than these anonymous briefings and mixed messages coming out of the Government. This is unfair and a clear decision needs to be communicated properly to the campaigners without delay. It is important to remember that Theresa May as Home Secretary personally invited the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign to make an official request for an inquiry. If she throws that back at them now, people will conclude it is for all the wrong reasons and it will not reflect well on our Prime Minister.