Â鶹Éç

Funding through the TV licence

A standard TV licence is currently £180.

Your TV Licence lets you enjoy a huge range of TV. It covers you for:

• All TV channels, like Â鶹Éç, ITV, Channel 4, Dave and international channels
• Pay TV services, like Sky, Virgin Media and BT
• Live TV on streaming services, like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video
• Everything on Â鶹Éç iPlayer

This includes recording and downloading. On any device, including a TV, laptop, tablet or phone.

What the licence fee pays for

Funding from the licence fee allows the Â鶹Éç to provide an unparalleled range of programmes and services across TV, radio and online.

In addition to funding programmes and services, a proportion of the licence fee funds the Â鶹Éç World Service broadcasting in 42 languages including English globally, as well as funding the Welsh Language TV channel S4C and . 

The licence fee allows the Â鶹Éç's UK services to remain free of advertisements and independent of shareholder and political interest.

The TV Licence and live sport

If you're watching live sport on any channel, streaming service or device, you need a TV Licence.

Everything your licence covers

• Â鶹Éç iPlayer
  Everything on Â鶹Éç iPlayer, including exclusive content and box sets – live and on demand.
• TV channels
  All TV channels like Â鶹Éç, STV, Channel 4, U&Dave and international channels.
• Pay TV services
  All TV channels or packages you pay for from services like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV.
• Streaming live
  Live TV, including sports and events on streaming services like STV Player, Netflix, TNT Sports, YouTube, NOW and Amazon Prime Video.

Commercial income

The licence fee is supplemented by income from the activities of our commercial subsidiaries - Â鶹Éç Studios and Â鶹Éç Studioworks.

Ensuring value for money

The Â鶹Éç is focussed on delivering value for all audiences. In a world of rapidly increasing choice the Â鶹Éç continues to reach 90% of UK adults on average each week, rising to 97% over a month, and is the nation’s number one media brand.

• Reduction in overheads
  Overheads remain at industry-leading levels, at only 5% of our total costs, with 95% directed to audience-facing content and services

• UK economy
  The Â鶹Éç has wide ranging impacts on the UK economy. For every £1 of the Â鶹Éç’s economic activity, £2.63 is generated in the economy.

• Commercial income
  £1,384 million in 2021/22.

• Culminative savings
  £1 billion worth of savings delivered since 2016/17.

In 2021/22 this is how your monthly licence fee was spent: