The director of BBC Television, Danny Cohen has expressed his frustration at missing out on the opportunity to produce Peter Morgan's The Crown after failing to outbid Netflix.

The series will chart Queen Elizabeth II's reign, with a particular focus on the relationship between Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street. Mr Cohen described this as a "classic BBC subject" - but said that the BBC "could not compete" with the money that Netflix was prepared to pump into the 60 episode project.

He added that the broadcasting corporation tried to work with Netflix on the show, but the streaming company wanted to take the series on by itself, and any possible collaboration would not have been feasible given the licensing demands that Netflix can make, saying:

“Their model is built on having global rights and we have got to respect that. They are a very smart, impressive bunch of people.”

These comments come just weeks after Amazon paid out an unprecedented $250m (€228) to snap-up Jeremy Clarkson, and the rest of the former-Top Gear presenters who have fronted the lucrative BBC franchise.

The BBC's spending power suffered recently as the British government required it to take on the £600m cost of offering free TV licence fees for over-75s.

Unlike Ireland's €160 TV licence fee, users who only watch TV from on-demand streaming services do not have to pay for a TV licence in the UK.

Mr Cohen says that the growing trend of people 'cutting the cord' and abandoning traditional television services is also putting financial strains on the BBC.