The BBC are reportedly planning to bring in a newly-structured licence fee system, as part of a project to give access to the broadcaster’s vast archive to those that pay for it.

The archive, which would be run on a subscription-only segment of the network’s free online catch-up service BBC iPlayer, could face issuing a ‘second licence fee’ to fund the collection and hosting of backdated content, although the extra fees would only be issued out to viewers who choose to sign up to watch such content.

Under the plans, regular licence fee payers and online browsers will still be able to use the regular iPlayer for free, which generally contains repeats of content aired on the network’s channels within the past week.

The move, and ‘fee structure’ is thought to be in the planning stages, as executives look for new ways to fund the corporation’s ambitious projects. The current licence fee for taxpayers is an annual rate of £145.50 ($223), with the fees currently ‘frozen’ as a result of agreed government cutbacks in 2010.

The BBC are thought to be discussing ‘careful modelling’ over a potential system, making sure that it is not for profit, but for covering expenditures, with added income most likely to be reinvested into the project. It is thought that such a proposal could be fully operational within three years, and part of the broadcasters structure by the time they renew their official charter in 2016.

An industry source said of the plans: “The costs involved in opening up the archives are such that the BBC needs to think about ways it can charge for access.”

A BBC spokesman confirmed that an ‘additional licence fee’ proposal was being looked into by the public service broadcaster. He said: “This is one of a series of ideas we are considering. A lot of careful modelling will have to be carried out, and we need to talk to the industry to ensure we are doing it in a way that works for everyone, so it is not imminent – but it is something we are looking at. We need to talk to the industry to ensure we are doing it in a way that works for everyone, so it is not imminent but it is something we are looking at.”

While the BBC already charge for iPlayer usage around the world, will a pay-based archive operation go down well on home turf?

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