John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, is to order the BBC to put password controls on the iPlayer, paving the way for the introduction of a separate subscription fee for the streaming service.

The government’s white paper on the future of the corporation, which will be published next month, is said to include plans to force users of the popular iPlayer to sign in before accessing the corporation’s television and radio programming, ensuring that those who do not pay the licence fee are excluded from the service.

Mr Whittingdale will also ask the BBC to trial additional subscription services via the iPlayer, allowing viewers to pay extra to access hit shows such as The Night Manager or The Great British Bake Off outside of the 30-day catch-up window, in which programmes are currently available for free.

While the corporation has been toying with the idea of bringing in some form of access control to the iPlayer, allowing users to personalise the service, it is wary of being forced into a situation in which a future government could spin-off the online portal, charging a separate subscription from the main television licence.