The Whitehall source said the funding was needed to “help support local journalism and counter a lot of the conspiracy theories and fake news which we have seen help parties like Reform getting elected in different parts of the country.”
BBC director-general Matt Brittin has signalled his support for modernising the corporation’s funding arrangements.
Speaking on Sunday, he said: “What we need to look at is the current model. You pay the licence fee if you watch live TV or you’re on iPlayer.”
Mr Brittin said he wanted BBC programmes, particularly news, to reach audiences across platforms including Netflix, YouTube, TikTok, Spotify and Instagram.
“I think BBC content should be on Netflix, on YouTube, on TikTok, on Spotify, and Instagram, and everywhere where audiences are,” he said.