The BBC licence fee was thrown into jeopardy today when a top Tory suggested “alternative means of funding” will need to be looked at "eventually".
The £157.50 charge is levied on every household with a television, unless they are over-75 and receive Pension Credit.
But Culture Minister John Whittingdale believed its days could be numbered as it faces increasing competition from subscription and streaming services like Amazon Video, Netflix and Disney+.
Viewer numbers among younger audiences are falling as they turn to watching TV over the internet and using on-demand channels instead.
Mr Whittingdale told the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee: “The justification that everybody benefited from paying it because everybody benefited from the BBC is still largely the case, but will diminish over time.
“I suspect that eventually we will need to look at alternative means of funding the BBC.”
There is “an attraction in subscription, at least in part”, he told MPs.
But the fact the “majority” of viewers watch television through Freeview would hamper attempts to restrict BBC access for those who opted not to pay to watch the Beeb's output.
However, he added: “There will eventually come a time when we may move to video over IP (internet protocol) as the universal means of distribution of television content.
“We are still quite a long way from that.”
The Government is preparing for fresh talks with the corporation over the licence fee from 2027, when its current charter expires.
