Public wants more subscription from BBC

The public wants more BBC services to be funded by paid-for optional subscription rather than the licence fee, a survey has shown.

A report for the Government found people were happy to pay an average of £162.66 per year - an increase of about £31 - for the licence fee.

However, 75 per cent of those surveyed also said they wanted new services from the corporation, such as more local news, to be funded by direct payments from users.

Introducing the report, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell addressed the Royal Television Society. She told the audience that the public "won't hand over a blank cheque".

"People want to have more of a say in the future of the BBC," she added. "They want more choice over what they pay. They want more control over what services they receive."

The report showed new online education facilities for 14 to 18-year-olds, a free-to-air satellite service, extra local news and higher quality programming were all popular ideas. Commissioned by the Department for Media, Culture and Sport, it comes ahead of a decision on a new licence fee settlement which is expected in October.

A spokeswoman for the department said: "This research will be considered together with the other evidence collected as part of this process when setting the future level of the licence fee."