BBC faces headwinds as Whittingdale is appointed culture secretary

By Maytaal Angel LONDON (Reuters) - The BBC faces renewed funding concerns following the appointment of John Whittingdale as British culture secretary, though there remains little chance of a major overhaul of the public broadcaster. Whittingdale, a critic of the corporation's licence fee, chaired the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which recommended in February that the fee should eventually be scrapped and that the publicly funded broadcaster should reduce its output. The BBC's remit and independence are underpinned by a Royal Charter that runs out at the end of 2016. My suspicion is it (the licence fee) will be frozen again, which means in effect a reduction," said Steven Barnett, professor of communications at the University of Westminster.