Nearly half a million iPlayer users avoid paying licence fee: Escape £145.50 charge by declaring they do not own a television set or see live shows

Viewers escape annual charge by saying they do not watch live shows

Last year 463,846 avoided annual charge by using iPlayer loophole



Means BBC now has 1.9million registered as exempt from paying licence fee



Nearly half a million people avoided buying a television licence last year because of a loophole created by the BBC iPlayer.

Viewers who use the service to watch catch-up programmes online for free can escape the £145.50 annual charge by declaring they do not own a television set or see live shows.

Last year, 463,846 opted out in this way, a rise of more than 35,000 in 12 months.



Last year, 463,846 opted out of paying the licence fee by saying they only use iPlayer to watch television. The figure was up 35,000 in just 12 months

It means the BBC has 1.9million residential and business addresses registered on a database of those who are exempt from paying the licence fee.

The figures, obtained under a Freedom of Information request, have sparked fears that the Corporation is struggling to adapt to the internet age.

It has led to calls for an overhaul in the way it is funded. Last night, Tory MP Philip Davies, who sits on the Commons culture, media and sport committee, said the growth of the iPlayer and rising numbers of people avoiding the annual fee prove the TV licence system is ‘increasingly unenforceable’.

Viewers who feel they are not obliged to pay the BBC fee can fill out a ‘no licence needed’ form. It means they are added to the database of exempt households and will stop receiving threatening letters from TV Licensing inspectors for two years.

The number of people filling out the form has risen steadily, from 425,590 in 2011 to 428,359 in 2012, and 463,846 last year.

It is believed many of them are younger viewers who no longer feel the need to buy television sets or watch TV as it is broadcast.



Instead, they can legally avoid paying by catching up with their favourite shows on their computers, tablets or smartphones.

The BBC now has 1.9million residential and business addresses registered on a database of those who are exempt from paying the £145.50 licence fee

Last night, Tory MP Rob Wilson told the Daily Mail: ‘These figures demonstrate exactly why the current licence fee model is out of date.



'It operates a 20th century model and it won’t last long with the rapid technological advances of the 21st century.

‘The BBC needs to come to the table with radical ideas about how to structure the Corporation for the many challenges it now faces.’



The BBC itself has encouraged the migration of younger viewers to online viewing.

Director general Tony Hall recently announced plans to scrap its youth channel BBC3 and put all of its content on iPlayer only.



A TV Licensing spokesman said: ‘There have only been small fluctuations in the number of residential addresses that don’t need a licence in the last four years.

‘The number of households only watching catch-up TV is well under 2 per cent.’