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UK government freezes BBC license fee for 2 years
The Xinhua reported according to British Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, the BBC license fee will be frozen for the next two years and will rise in line with inflation for the four years after that.
Dorries said the BBC wanted the fee to rise to over 180 pounds (245 U.S. dollars) by the end of this settlement. Instead, it will remain fixed at 159 pounds until April 1, 2024.
She said in a statement issued on Monday: "The global cost of living is rising -- and this government is committed to supporting families as much as possible during these difficult times."
She added: "We simply could not justify putting extra pressure on the wallets of hard-working households."
Dorries said that the British government will more than double the borrowing limit of the BBC's commercial arm to 750 million pounds to support it.
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The culture secretary also urged the BBC to address issues around impartiality and groupthink, urging the BBC leadership to put their words into action.
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BBC Chairman Richard Sharp and Director-General Tim Davie said in a statement: "A freeze in the first two years of this settlement means the BBC will now have to absorb inflation. That is disappointing."
Source: xinhua
