According to the Times, the BBC – strapped for cash as millions more stop paying the TV licence, and struggling to compete in a world dominated by high-gloss American ‘content’ – is brainstorming a portfolio of wizard wheezes to replenish its bank account. One of these, quite incredibly, could be the return of the radio licence. ‘BBC bosses are considering a new way of funding the corporation, which would result in people having to pay the licence fee to listen to any of its radio channels or use its news website.’

Here’s a wild idea. Maybe – just maybe – it would be a good idea to create programming that doesn’t routinely insult and abuse its audience, and then bill them for the pleasure?

This may not be quite – not quite – as nutty as it first appears. The government is committed to switching off the good old-fashioned analogue radio signal completely before 2030. So, technically speaking, when FM is gone, digital-only channels could be paywalled in a similar manner to music or TV streaming services.

But still, the return of a licence for radio seems like a bizarre backward step. Presumably, those who eschew the BBC’s audio offerings will be hounded by the same kinds of snarky letters that bedevil those of us who’ve binned our TV licences but who still have the sheer effrontery to possess a TV set. It is quite incredible that this........

© The Spectator