Petition · Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Rename ‘BBC licence fee’ to ‘BBC subscription’
Closed
123 signatures
What the petition asks
We call on the Government to rename ‘BBC license fee’ to ‘BBC subscription. The public must be in no doubt that payment to watch the BBC and live TV is voluntary and the word 'licence' implies a legal requirement, which is not the case if they are not watching BBC or live tv.
The general public has the legal freedom to purchase, as they see fit, broadcast media from any source. If that is subscriptions to a streaming service, it should never include the term 'licence' which may confuse the public into thinking there is a need or legal requirement to pay it when they neither watch BBC nor live TV.
Timeline
| 17 Dec 2025 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 17 Jun 2026 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
123
Status
Closed
Department
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Opened
17 Dec 2025
Closed
17 Jun 2026
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 27 Jul 2026.