Ofcom rules out top-slicing the licence fee

Ofcom have returned their ruling on the management of the UK's broadcasting licence fee, which is currently used to fund the BBC. This Guardian article provides a useful summary of their decision: "Its report ruled out "top-slicing" the core BBC licence fee to pay for PSB content from other providers. "In contrast, we do not believe that the top-slicing of funding for the BBC's programmes and services should be considered," the regulator said."

This decision will lead to intensive industry debate and reflection about how public service "broadcasting" (PSB) content will be funded in the coming years.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/21/licence-fee-psb-ofcom-report