tv licence

sunrise27_2

don't know if this is the right place to ask this but I'm curious
there must be an answer ??
nowadays when you can't just watch t.v through an aerial most people have sky dishes or virgin boxes so why do we still have to pay a licence fee for BBC 1 etc - as I'm typing this I'm thinking its because we can still watch the BBC channels through our chosen tv package is that right, just seems we pay for a cable package and then we pay again for the BBC channels through the tv licence ??

macman

Because your licence does not just cover you to watch 'BBC1 etc'. A licence is required to watch any live TV channel from any source.
There are hundreds of threads on licencing, so I suggest you have a browse.

Ectophile

1. Because when you pay Sky or Virgin, you're paying for their channels, not the BBC's.

2. Because the law says you have to. If you are watching or recording live broadcast TV, you need a licence. It doesn't matter how that TV is delivered.

Nilrem

It's because the BBC gets zero money from the likes of Sky or VM for them showing it's channels, indeed there is an argument at the moment about the amount the BBC have to pay sky as a "platform charge"* (on top of the EPG costs, and the costs of transmission)

The government decided many moons ago that there should be a national broadcaster in the UK that was "public service", and it should be funded by a (at the time) radio licence, which evolved to the TV licence, and that you should pay it regardless of what channel you watch, and regardless of the source. Basically that it should apply if you watch TV live in any form.

Whilst the TVL can be annoying, it's about the only way to get a broadcaster who is largely unaffected by the need to get massive ratings, and is required to show content of a wide and varied range.
It also pretty much means it's able to do consumer affairs, honest reviews of products, and news without worrying about upsetting potential advertisers.
It's even pretty much independent of interference from the government except where the government legislates otherwise (IE you don't get the PM saying "I don't like that bit about our benefit cuts, get them to stop reporting it please"), as has been shown many times in the past where the BBC seems to be claimed to be biased against whatever government is in power.

It's also worth noting that not all the TVL goes to the BBC, and that the BBC is pretty much the main TV related R&D broadcaster in the UK, and one of the main ones in the world, whose work has in the past led to things like subtitles for the deaf, nicam stereo, and a lot of work towards the various broadcasting standards, both in analogue, and digital (for example the BBC was doing test broadcasts of HD terrestrial several years before Sky got their HD lined up).

On the bright side, at least we get something for the TVL (and opt out of it), unlike some of our EU friends who can pay a TV licence (or equivalent) regardless of what they use their TV for, and in some cases don't have a broadcaster funded by it - in some countries you pay a TVL but it goes straight into the government's pockets with no TV or radio related benefits.


*Note that the BBC don't pay VM for platform charges (or from memory EPG and transmission as the cable operators see it as an advantage), and in other countries like the US, Sky's parent company require payment for any of their channels transmitted by satellite or cable companies.

sunrise27_2

thanks all , makes very interesting reading, my daughter is just about to move into her own flat and we were going through all the things she will need to pay out for and it just made me realise that things have changed so much in the way that tv is delivered and I just wondered how it affected the tv licence and now I know

[Deleted User]

Another point to consider is how much better it is to watch TV without 15 minutes of every hour being interrupted by advertising. It would be even worse if the BBC weren't around.

Cycrow

also remember that the TV licence is also for Radio as well

Niv

Cycrow wrote: »

also remember that the TV licence is also for Radio as well

Is it? I was pretty sure you dont need a licence for listening to radio (unless of course you mean it funds the BBC radio channels?)

edited to add:

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ102/

vuvuzela

Cycrow wrote: »

also remember that the TV licence is also for Radio as well

I probably average nearly 30 hours a week (so 1500 hours/year) listening to Radio 5. That for me makes it around 10p/hour just for that (ignoring all the BBC TV programmes I watch too), which is a price I am very happy to pay.

Cycrow

Niv wrote: »

Is it? I was pretty sure you dont need a licence for listening to radio (unless of course you mean it funds the BBC radio channels?)

edited to add:

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ102/

Yes i ment its to fund radio as well as TV.

System

Cycrow wrote: »

also remember that the TV licence is also for Radio as well

No its not. The BBC TV Licence was created to fund the BBC but it does fund their radio propaganda too. Nilrem can confirm this for you because he spends lots of time here and at Digitalspy defending the BBC