MILLIONS will be glued to the BBC’s exclusive live coverage tonight as England battle it out with Argentina for a place in the World Cup final.

Yet figures illustrate in no uncertain terms that fewer people than ever are prepared to pay for the privilege of watching the national broadcaster.

The number of households stumping up for the licence fee – which now stands at £180 a year – has plummeted by more than 2.5million since 2019. Following a fall of around 540,000 in the 12 months to March, the BBC’s annual report warns of a ‘steeper projected decline’ in the years ahead.

For major embarrassments such as live broadcast blunders at Glastonbury and the Baftas, it only has itself to blame.

The BBC has also failed to meet the demands of the modern era of programme-making. When it comes to groundbreaking drama and documentaries, the sorry truth is that it is being outshone by Netflix, Apple TV and other streaming services.

The BBC’s sporting output has been on a downward spiral for even longer. Its loss of the live TV rights to the Open Championship, the Grand National and other key events have been deeply felt.

Yesterday’s figures also show the management’s inexplicable profligacy when it comes to rewarding so-called ‘star’ names. It is impossible to imagine any justification for a glorified disc jockey such as Scott Mills – since sacked over a historic sex abuse allegation – receiving an annual pay packet of up to £749,999.

As a matter of urgency, the corporation needs to take an unflinching look at how it operates and its place in an ever more fragmented digital world. Even new director-general Matt Brittin describes the licence fee as a ‘busted flush’ – but what is the alternative? No one seems to know.

Tonight, as Thomas Tuchel’s men take to the pitch in Atlanta, the BBC will play a key part in bringing the nation together. For too long now, though, those moments have been the exception rather than the rule.

FOR a man who seems inordinately fond of the sound of his own voice, Andy Burnham has been remarkably quiet of late.

True, he spoke in the House of Commons yesterday evening as the Hillsborough Law was approved. But in an unprecedented move, Labour blocked a vote on allowing MPs to question the incoming Prime Minister when he takes up office next Monday.

Why is Mr Burnham so shy all of a sudden? We have already been told that he spent the past year – when he was supposed to be representing the people of Greater Manchester as their mayor – working on a road map for his first 100 days in Downing Street, so he must have a strategy worked out.

Writing on X, Kemi Badenoch put forward a theory that Labour knows the ‘honeymoon will be over the minute he has to tell us his plans’. That would certainly explain the King of the North’s uncharacteristic silence.

WITH her disastrous tenure as Chancellor surely coming to an end, Rachel Reeves delivered a valedictory address at the Mansion House last night.

Unsurprisingly, Ms Reeves failed to draw attention to the devastating impact crippling rises in National Insurance contributions and the youth minimum wage hike have had on employers. Nor did she mention that more than three firms collapsed every day on her watch.

That’s what you call being economical with the truth.