Do you believe in the BBC licence fee?

Former_MSE_Debs

Poll started 20 July 2012, click here to vote

A TV licence costs £145.50 a year for any home with a colour TV, and pays for the BBC - that's TV, radio, regional programmes, BBC online and associated costs (full details).

Do you believe in the licence fee?

Yes. I think it's an important public service
Yes, but it's far too high. It needs to be cut and scaled back
No. I'd happily see ads fund it

reddbamboo

The BBC could fund itself with adverts between programs, what is the real problem with this option ?

paganuspaul

I love having a few channels that aren't full of mind-numbing advertisements and sponsors messages. You get much more actual programming for every hour you watch. I'd trust the BBC over any private company funded by ads, despite the best efforts of the Tories to put it under pressure.

ViolaLass

Do I believe in it?

Well, yes, its existence seems pretty certain to me.

Elle1971

I find it abhorrent that it is illegal to NOT purchase a product from a commercial organisation.

dansan

You don't necessarily need to pay for a license to watch TV. There is a completely legal loophole that few people use, but there is a compromise - you can't watch programs as they're being broadcast.

If you use BBC iPlayer, ITV OD, Channel 4OD and Channel 5OD and never watch or record a program as it's being transmitted, then you don't need a license. I can't post a link as this is my first post, but google "FAQ103 tv licensing" to find the relevant page.

We surrendered our TV license in October last year and have since been watching only catch-up TV. Admittedly, we're not big TV watchers and only watch 1-2 hours per night - usually documentaries and quiz shows such as QI. Our children love it as they can watch what they want in their TV hour - back to back Button Moon on YouTube at the moment!

After a month of having our certificate of No Licence Needed, they cancelled that and said we needed a licence, but a quick phone call sorted it out and they re-issued our certificate of No Licence Needed. No one has called at the house to check, although if they do I'll happily show them we can't receive broadcast TV any more.

With all that downloading, we are still within the 40Gb limit each month - we were prepared to pay an extra £5 per month to go to 80Gb download, but haven't needed to.

That's how to save £145.50 per year :-)

ViolaLass

Elle1971 wrote: »

I find it abhorrent that it is illegal to NOT purchase a product from a commercial organisation.

It's only illegal if you want to use their products i.e. watch TV as its being broadcast.

tgroom57

£145.50 to watch 'live' tv which is mostly pre-recorded shows ?

I can see that BBC needed the money in the early days to fund the hardware infrastructure -transmitters and such like. Now it just seems overcooked.

Meadows

No. I'd happily see ads fund it

mgarl10024

ViolaLass wrote: »

It's only illegal if you want to use their products i.e. watch TV as its being broadcast.

Why do you then need to pay a TV licence to the BBC, when you could spend all your time watching other channels?

Mrs_Arcanum

Well worth not having constant ads making an hour long program really only 40 minutes as per commercial stations.

Advertising revenue funded BBC would have a huge impact on specialist channels as they would take so much of the already limited advertising revenue stream.
The quality of programming over all would drop.
Only popular programmes would continue as the revenue would depend on viewers.
World wide sales of BBC programming would fall as it is the quality and great ideas unfettered by needing to secure funding would be gone. So more advertising revenue would be needed.