U.S. studios are up in arms over proposals to make them assist the BBC in collecting its funding. The Motion Picture Association (MPA), representing major players like Netflix and Disney, is lobbying against any plan that would involve third parties helping the BBC enforce the licence fee on more households. This comes as the BBC struggles with a declining number of licence fee payers, with only 80% of the UK population currently contributing to the annual £180 fee. The BBC is exploring ways to modernize its funding mechanism as part of its charter renewal process. One idea is to extend the licence fee to non-live content viewers, but this has sparked controversy. The BBC argues that this is not widely understood and that streaming services could help by sharing data and introducing pop-up warnings. However, the MPA disagrees, stating that the BBC and TV Licensing should remain solely responsible for collecting the licence fee, as any new responsibilities would incur costs and potentially impact viewers' experiences. ITV, a UK commercial broadcaster, also expressed concerns, warning that forcing private companies to enforce a public funding mechanism would set a dangerous precedent for market intervention. The MPA also welcomes the government's rejection of a streamer levy, which could have negatively impacted the UK's film and television sector by reducing investment in UK content.
