Only half of 16 to 24-year-olds know that the BBC is funded by the licence fee, while over a third of adults are unaware how the corporation’s website is funded.
A new Ofcom report, adults’ media use and attitudes, found that just 52% of 16 to 24-year-olds knew that the BBC TV programmes are funded from the £145.50 annual TV licence fee charged to all UK households that watch live TV.
The media regulator’s annual report also found that 37% of adults did not know that the BBC’s website is also funded by the licence fee.
This is an improvement on the 44% who were not aware how the BBC website was funded in the 2014 Ofcom report.
In March, a report published by the department of culture, media and sport analysed the benefits to commercial rivals if BBC Online moved away from “soft” stories, such as entertainment coverage.
The Ofcom report found that one in four women did not know that the licence fee funds BBC TV shows, while 16% of men failed to give the right answer.
Overall, Ofcom’s report found that overall 79% of those surveyed were aware that the licence fee is the main source of funding for BBC TV shows.
The report shows that awareness is generational, with 70% of 25 to 34-year-olds and 93% of 55 to 64-year-olds aware of the corporation’s funding mechanism.
