BBC considers charging for online content

A top BBC executive has reignited the debate over the future funding of the corporation by claiming that the costs of distributing content online are not being covered by the licence fee.

As a result, the corporation is considering putting a limit on the amount of online BBC content licence fee payers can access.

Heavy users might even have to make additional payments on top of the licence fee.

In an interview with the FT, Ashley Highfield, the BBC's director of new media, said: "The licence fee could give viewers a certain amount of credit to use a certain amount of content and, once that credit has run out, they would have to top it up."

Highfield added that the cost of streaming programmes could be several billion pounds when high-speed internet services were more widespread.

Under his plan, unlimited free service would remain guaranteed for BBC's core public services such as terrestrial television and news and education content online.

The BBC stressed that the idea was "speculative".

The BBC has attracted much criticism from the commercial online industry, with much of it focused around the organisation's ability to cross-promote its online commercial brands on free-to-air media.