LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - Pensioners in Britain who have watched television for free will have to start paying after the publicly-funded BBC said it would scrap free access for those over 75-years-old.

The BBC, which is funded by a tax on all television watching households, said around 3.7 million pensioners who previously received a free TV licence could have to pay when its new rules come into force in June 2020.

The BBC agrees a funding settlement with the government and in 2015 it had to take over the cost of providing free licences for over-75s by 2020 as part of its latest funding round. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Michael Holden)