The BBC’s licence fee will rise to £169.50 from April 1, an increase of £10.50 from the current price of £159 – the first planned increase since 2021.

If you watch TV at home, you can’t avoid the price increase, but there are a few tricks you can use to make it cheaper this year.

The broadcasting fee is set by the state and increases in line with the inflation rate of 6.7%, calculated for the year up to September 2023.

The BBC, the main broadcaster funded by the fee, had previously said it was reviewing £500 million in cost savings and needed to reassess its priorities as the fee has been frozen for the past two years and costs have risen due to inflation.

In November last year, independent MP Julian Knight asked the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) whether it would consider a “TV licence fee freeze in 2024”.

Read more: How to prepare your retirement to live to 100 years of age

“We have reached a fair agreement with the BBC. It will keep the licence fee at £159 until 2024 to protect licence fee payers from inflationary pressures. After that, it will rise in line with inflation until the end of 2027, when the current charter needs to be renewed,” MP Sir John Whittingdale said in a written response.

Subsequently, a fee increase was announced in December.

How to minimize TV license costs

One trick that MoneySavingExpert recommends is to pay the license fee in installments by direct debit or with a payment card. This way, you will not be affected by the increase until the next license renewal. You will then have to pay monthly or quarterly.

This means that the total fee for the year will remain £159, even though the new fees do not come into effect until April.

The license can be extended from the first day of the month in which it expires.

Read more: UK house prices rise in January as pressure on mortgage rates eases

A second strategy would be to renew your royalty rate and pay the full amount before the increase takes effect in April. If you renew before April, you will pay the previous amount regardless of the planned increase. Your payment would then increase in 2025.

Despite the fee increase, some people are entitled to a free television licence.

If you are over 75 years old and receive the pension supplement, your driving license is free. For more information about this and eligibility, please call the driving license hotline: 0800 232 1382.

Failure to pay the licence fee may result in a fine of £1,000.

Watch: Culture Secretary announces BBC licence fee increase in 2024

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple And Android.