Spending Review: TV licence frozen for six years

whatmichaelsays

chattychappy wrote: »

Nonsense. None of the countries I've lived in have required me to buy a licence except the UK. I'm looking at an legal unlicensed TV right now as I have the luxury of not being in the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_licence#Television_licences_around_the_world

You fail.

whatmichaelsays

opinions4u wrote: »

3) Radio One. Commercialise it completely.

The Radio One argument is interesting in my view. On the face of it, it is very easy to say "the private sector can do what Radio One does" but if you look more closely, R1 actually does a lot of important programming that the commercial sector either can't or won't do.

Which commercial stations, for example, do something like the live lounge, the Sunday Surgery, extended news bulletins, alternative music programming, new music programming? All important parts of R1s schedule that would be sorely missed in my view. No commercial rival does any of that.

kaya

i dont see why we have to pay for any of it, its an old and outdated law and the BBC are most certainly NOT unbiased in their reporting any longer(the reason they were allowed to charge for it)

JimmyTheWig

chattychappy wrote: »

The competition concern was greater though. They effectively can produce a product through a subsidy - the website is funded by the UK licence payer which doesn't put it on a level playing field outside of the UK when it competes for advertising with other providers (eg CNN).

But CNN, for example, gets advertising revenue from the UK.
That levels up the playing field.

serious_saver

chattychappy wrote: »

Nonsense. None of the countries I've lived in have required me to buy a licence except the UK. I'm looking at an legal unlicensed TV right now as I have the luxury of not being in the UK.

If you are not living in the UK and not paying the license fee, what right do you have to comment?!?!?!?!? :mad::mad::mad::mad:

If people paid for only the programmes they wanted to watch there would be no quality arts and education programming because it wouldn't be seen as value for money! All we'd be able to watch is soap operas and talent shows!!!

The TV license works out at just under 40p per day and most people spend more than that on a newspaper or a cup of coffee everyday. I wish people would just stop whining!

adouglasmhor

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Should be abolished altogether in my opinion. We are the only mugs in the world who pay a licence fee

Ireland does as well. http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/tvlicence250108.htm

whatmichaelsays

kaya wrote: »

i dont see why we have to pay for any of it, its an old and outdated law and the BBC are most certainly NOT unbiased in their reporting any longer(the reason they were allowed to charge for it)

I personally don't buy the argument that the BBC is left leaning at all. After all, some of it's most prominent commentators are known Tory supporters.

In truth, I think it is more that those on the right or left perceive that anybody who considers the alternative argument to be "left or right". After all, if you use the Daily Heil as your yardstick (which many on MSE do), then the Beeb will naturally look left leaning (then again, even Hitler was a little bit left wing for that rag). It is also very difficult to look "impartial" when you have to please such a broad range of audience. In truth, I think it has the balance as near as it is probably ever going to be.

Whether it is impartial or not, there is a damn good reason why the BBC is one of, if not the, most respected broadcasters in the world. Plenty of other nations are crying out for a broadcaster like the Beeb and it's something that we should be proud of - especially when you see the pea-brained garbage behind button number three.

chattychappy

You said:

rapido wrote: »

Complete rubbish.

Most of the rest of the world have a tv licensing system.

To which I replied:

chattychappy wrote: »

None of the countries I've lived in have required me to buy a licence except the UK.

But then you write

rapido wrote: »

So what?

Just because you didn't live in a country that uses a tv licensing system proves that no other country uses television licensing?

How ridiculous.

I once lived in France, they drove on the right. Therefore all other countries in the world drive on the right. What sort of logic is that?

The "so what" and "logic" is you claimed that most counties in the world have a TV licensing system but have not supported this. Some do, mostly in Europe. Most don't.

chattychappy

I wrote:

chattychappy wrote: »

But I AM paying the licence fee for 12 months a year - just can only access the content for some of the year.

Then you wrote:

serious_saver wrote: »

If you are not living in the UK and not paying the license fee, what right do you have to comment?!?!?!?!? :mad::mad::mad::mad:

Perhaps you should read my posts before commenting on them.

JimmyTheWig

chattychappy wrote: »

The "so what" and "logic" is you claimed that most counties in the world have a TV licensing system but have not supported this.

The thing is that chattychappy was first responding to another poster who said that we are the only ones who have such a system.
You reply _looked like_ it was agreeing with this poster based on the countries that you have lived in.
In fact, when I read it I assumed (incorrectly) that you were the same person who had made the original incorrect statement.

Certainly nothing to get wound up by, on any level.