The way it's generally considered to be: they are actually funded directly by a license fee which British people are legally required to pay if they watch any l

The way it's generally considered to be: they are actually funded directly by a license fee which British people are legally required to pay if they watch any live TV (including live online streams such as iPlayer, but not including non-live VODs). Technically... the BBC collects the license fees, gives all the money to the Government and then receives money back from the Government. But it's a complicated setup, separate to normal taxes/budgets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_Un... edit: Actually, I then read the wikipedia article that I linked, since last year you now do need a license to watch BBC iPlayer VODs.