RCP

The BBC is to transmit a live feed of its two main television channels over the internet from next week in a move that throws new doubt over the future of the licence fee.

The announcement today means that anybody with a computer and internet connection will be able to watch BBC One and BBC Two without a television.

Although the law means that viewers will still be liable to pay the licence fee if programmes are only watched online the job of enforcing the rules will become increasingly more difficult.

Already one in twenty homes do not pay the licence fee.

Watching television programmes over the internet has lifted off in the past year, following the launch of the BBC’s catch-up service, the iPlayer, which allows people to watch programmes transmitted over the previous week.

Broadcasters have followed up the success of ‘on-demand’ programming, by making entire channels available online live — and the BBC has already made digital channels such as BBC Three and BBC Four available on the internet.

Jana Bennett, director of BBC Vision, said: “The launch of BBC One and BBC Two online completes our commitment to make our portfolio of channels available to watch on the internet.”

timesonline.co.uk