BBC rolls out paid subscriptions for US users

LONDON (Reuters) -The BBC is rolling out paid subscriptions in the United States, it said on Thursday, as the publicly-funded broadcaster explores new revenue streams amid negotiations with the British government over its funding.

The BBC has in recent years seen a fall in the number of people paying the licence fee, a charge of 174.50 pounds ($239.76) a year levied on all households who watch live TV, as viewers have turned to more content online.

From Thursday, frequent U.S. visitors to the BBC's news website will have to pay $49.99 per year or $8.99 per month for unlimited access to news articles, feature stories, and a 24-hour livestream of its news programmes.

While its services will remain free to British users as part of its public service remit, its news website operates commercially and reaches 139 million users worldwide, including nearly 60 million in the U.S.

The new pay model uses an engagement-based system, the corporation said in a statement, allowing casual readers to access free content.

"Over the next few months, as we test and learn more about audience needs and habits, additional long-form factual content will be added to the offer for paying users," said Rebecca Glashow, CEO of BBC Global Media & Streaming.

The British government said last November it would review the BBC's Royal Charter, which sets out the broadcaster's terms and funding model, with the aim of ensuring a sustainable and fair system beyond 2027.

To give the corporation financial certainty up to then, the government said it was committed to keeping the licence in its current form and would lift the fee in line with inflation.

($1 = 0.7278 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Jan Harvey)