BBC TO TRACK MILLIONS VIA IPLAYER – The BBC plans to link up to 40 million online accounts directly to the TV licence status of home addresses
The BBC is reportedly plotting a major hi-tech offensive against licence fee dodgers. In what’s being called the biggest enforcement shift in decades, the BBC plans to link up to 40 million online accounts directly to the TV licence status of homes address.
Until now, iPlayer accounts and the annual £174.50 TV licences were essentially different. By using the data you already provided— email, date of birth, and postcode—the BBC is building a bridge to the national licensing database.
Personal logins will be matched against residential addresses to see if a licence is active, to close a massive financial black hole that the corporation says is putting its future at risk.
Despite taking in nearly £4 billion last year, an estimated £550 million was lost to evasion. Evasion has climbed to 12.5% of all households as around 3.6 million households have officially told the BBC they don’t need a licence—but the taxman suspects many are still watching.
Enforcement officers made nearly two million visits last year—a 50% increase—yet the number of fines actually handed out has dropped to around 25,000.
In November, a damning report from MPs on the Public Accounts Committee accused the BBC of ‘not doing enough’ to catch those skipping the bill.
