From April 1, the broadcasting company is due to increase the price of the annual license fee from £157.50 to £159. It follows a similar move by streaming service Netflix, which announced an increase of £2 extra per month for its premium service in January.
Now, a fresh poll by YouGov conducted and released on Tuesday shows the British public are largely unhappy about the BBC’s increase in price.
Of 4,222 adults polled in Great Britain, only 28 percent said they thought the license fee increase was “fair”.
The vast majority – 62 percent – said they thought it was “unfair,” while 11 percent said they did not know.
Another wrote: “Why, for example, should I have to pay the BBC when I only want to watch Channel 4?”
Others were not bothered by the planned increase. One user said: “Really, it’s £1.50. Don’t see what all the fuss is about.”
Last month, Netflix announced it would be increasing the monthly cost of its standard package from £8.99 to £9.99 and its premium package from £11.99 to £13.99.
Netflix said: “Our price change reflects the significant investments we’ve made in new TV shows and films, as well as improvements to our product.”
It claimed to be spending more than £736 million in the UK producing “locally-made films” and series this year.
