Licence fee 'should aid BBC rivals'

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Extra cash should be made available to the likes of ITV, Channel 4 and Five for the production of public service broadcasting.

Both children's and regional programming are under financial threat.

The money should come either from general taxation or from "top slicing" the BBC licence fee, according to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

In a report, the committee said: "The BBC provides a large amount of public service content and plays an important role as a quality standard-setter for the rest of the market, and we expect this to continue in future given its guaranteed income of over £3.2 billion per annum.

"We are concerned, however, that the BBC should not be left as the only supplier of public service content in any area of programme...

"We believe that public funding, using licence fee money or general taxation, should be made available to all broadcasters on a contestable basis, to sustain plurality and to bring the benefits of competition to the provision of public service content that the market might not otherwise provide, such as UK-produced children's programming or regional programming.

"However, we do not believe that the overall cost to the public should be allowed to increase."

The financial pressures on broadcasters are likely to increase as the UK approaches digital switchover, the report said.

Ofcom's restrictions on advertising around children's programming will only add to these pressures, it added.