The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson MP, has dropped his biggest hint yet that the future funding of the BBC faces a radical overhaul.
At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday (2nd September 2020) Andrew Lewer MP, who has represented the good people of Northampton South since 2017, asked: "When I buy a copy of the Mirror, the Mail or the Telegraph, I'm not obliged to buy a copy of the Guardian.
"And yet when I want to watch live TV on Sky or Amazon Prime or ITV, I am forced to pay for the BBC.
"Does the Prime Minister believe that this is a sustainable situation in the medium or longer term?"
The Prime Minister replied: "He makes an interesting point of view shared I'm sure by many people in this country.
"But my Right Honourable friend, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, will be setting out a roadmap shortly for reform of the BBC and addressing the very issue that he mentions."
It has been an uncomfortably hot summer for the BBC, with mounting criticism over the impartiality of its news reporting and handling of recent over-75 TV licence reforms.
Speaking recently in Cardiff, Tim Davie, the BBC's new Director General, described the corporation as a "brilliant success".
He said the corporation's top priority would be to "renew our commitment to impartiality" and he opposed any move towards a subscription model that "would make us just another media company".
The Government is expect to report the outcome of its recent consultation on the decriminalisation of TV licence fee evasion by the end of this month.
You can read the TV Licensing Blog's response to the consultation here.
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