TV Licensing Costs of Collection
Financial Year
07/08
06/07
05/06
04/05
03/04
02/03
£m
£m
£m £m 
£m  £m 
Collection costs incl call centres, 
87.3
71.8%
98.9
74.6%
field force, detection and over the 
counter services (net of recharges 
re o75s)
115.6
75.4%
113.9
74.9%
117.7
77.9%
120.9
82.6%
Depreciation of new systems
1.2
1.0%
0.8
0.6%
1
0.7%
1.3
0.9%
2
1.3%
0.4
0.3%
Communications including 
22.6
18.6%
19
14.3%
reminders and information 
campaigns
22.4
14.6%
19.9
13.1%
18.3
12.1%
11.5
7.9%
Postage
9.1
7.5%
10.7
8.1%
10.6
6.9%
12.2
8.0%
9.4
6.2%
10.4
7.1%
Administration and contract 
1.4
1.2%
3.2
2.4%
management
3.8
2.5%
4.7
3.1%
3.6
2.4%
3.2
2.2%
121.6
100%           132.6 
100%
153.4
100%
152
100%
151
100%
146.4
100%
Licence fee revenue
           3,368.3 
3,242.9
3,100.5
2,940.3
2,798.1
2,658.6
Costs as % of revenue
3.6%
4.1%
4.9%
5.2%
5.4%
5.5%
Licences in force (excl ARC) 
     24,740,047 
24,545,516
24,418,757
24,161,532
23,898,749
23,485,613
Cost per licence
£4.92
£5.40
£6.28
£6.29
£6.32
£6.23
3.6%
4.1%
Cost per licence as % of licence fee
5.0%
5.2%
5.4%
5.6%
Collection costs incl call centres, 
£3.53
£4.03
£4.73
£4.71
£4.92
£5.15
field force, detection and over the 
counter services (net of recharges 
re o75s)
Depreciation of new systems
£0.05
£0.03
£0.04
£0.05
£0.08
£0.02
Communications including 
£0.91
£0.77
reminders and information 
campaigns
£0.92
£0.82
£0.77
£0.49
Postage
£0.37
£0.44
£0.43
£0.50
£0.39
£0.44
Administration and contract 
£0.06
£0.13
management
£0.16
£0.19
£0.15
£0.14
£4.92
£5.40
£6.28
£6.29
£6.32
£6.23
Further breakdown of the specific aspects of the collection contracts is not readily available as the fee structure 
for our main contractor Capita is based on licence sales and encompasses all aspects of the service provision 
across the call centres and the field operations.  
The cost per licence reflects the average cost, most cost less, some cost more depending on the level of chasing required.
Fines collected are not given to the BBC or TV Licensing - they are a matter for the courts.

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