Netflix users might have to pay for watching shows like Stranger Things (Picture: Courtesy of Netflix)
Netflix users are furious after it was revealed they could be charged the BBC licence fee under radical new measures being considered by the UK government.
Currently, only households who watch live TV or BBC iPlayer pay the £169.50 annual fee which typically rises each year in line with inflation.
However, now ministers are debating whether to extend the fee to all streaming platform users to plug the BBC funding gap, according to Bloomberg.
On social media, TV viewers expressed their discontent over the prospect of having to cough up more cash for streamers like Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and Paramount.
On X, @NollyPreep raged: ‘This is outrageous!!! You may be forced to pay the BBC licence fee, even though you only watch streaming services like Netflix.’
Reddit user Dragodrake argued: ‘The license fee desperately needs to be reformed, but this would be the wrong direction to go.’
The government is reportedly considering charging all streamer users the licence fee (Picture: Jack English)
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Seagulls51 argued: ‘I only want to watch TV a couple times a year so a TV license isn’t justifiable, but it would be good to be able to pay a small fee to be able to watch and support shows like Inside Number 9, which I doubt anyone but the BBC would or could make.
‘I’d rather sail the high seas than pay £170 to watch 3 hours of telly a year, but conceptually I have no issue paying.
‘Like Gabe Newell the creator of Steam said; piracy is a distribution issue not a cost issue..’
Statcat2017 said: ‘I’m sick of every company going thinking I owe them £20 a month. Football is the biggest joke. You need something like 4 subscriptions to watch less than 50% of games.’
The potential new legislation would affect all streaming platforms in the UK (Picture: AP)
The UK government is also exploring alternatives including the introduction of a specific tax for streamers and allowing the BBC to run advertisements.
If the plans go ahead, they would come into effect in 2027 when the current terms of the licence fee ends.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Netflix users in the UK could be fined £1,000 for watching live WWE programme Monday Night Raw.
That is because you must have a TV licence to watch a live TV show.
Netflix users risked a £1,000 fine for watching Monday Night Raw (Picture: WWE/Getty Images)
On Gov.uk, the site warns: ‘You can be fined up to £1,000 if you watch or record live TV without a TV Licence.’
‘Under UK law, any live television broadcast requires a valid TV Licence, regardless of the streaming platform,’ Daniel McAfee, head of legal operations at Lawhive, told MailOnline.
The BBC has already made bold changes as part of its plan to save £500million.
Shows have already been hit by cost-cutting measures, such as Newsnight, which has been massively scaled back, and more could be affected.
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