Free TV licences to be scrapped for millions of over-75s - MSE News

HWW

Doc_N wrote: »

The BBC was forced into that position by the government, and the government knew full well what the outcome would be:

https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/15/why-the-bbc-is-not-to-blame-for-the-tv-licence-fee-cuts-9956545/

You find it surprising, that the Pro-left BBC, is put on the spot by the Tory party, really??
It serves the BBC right, for their bias, & Pro-EU attitude as well.
But, something is going to give, eventually - the OVER 75s, will not be paying for a TV licence.
One way, or another.

HWW

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

It wasn't "dumped" on the BBC.

The BBC took it on, as part of a deal they agreed to, and which they are now reneging on.

That is the truth, 100% - the Greedy BBC want their cake - & eat it.

Doc_N

HWW wrote: »

You find it surprising, that the Pro-left BBC, is put on the spot by the Tory party, really??
It serves the BBC right, for their bias, & Pro-EU attitude as well.
But, something is going to give, eventually - the OVER 75s, will not be paying for a TV licence.
One way, or another.

All this pro-left nonsense is just fake news thrown about all the time by the Conservative controlled press who don't like the fact that the BBC costs them income. The BBC simply isn't allowed any political bias - by law - and it goes to great lengths to avoid it.

Unlike the Mail, the Telegraph, the Sun, the Star, the Express and a host of other newspapers.

And pro-EU? Another piece of fake news put about by the same papers. Again, bias would be illegal.

Ever seen any prosecutions for bias? No - because it simply doesn't exist outside the diseased minds of the Tory press who hate the idea of political independence.

Cornucopia

Doc_N wrote: »

Unlike the Mail, the Telegraph, the Sun, the Star, the Express and a host of other newspapers.

And pro-EU? Another piece of fake news put about by the same papers. Again, bias would be illegal.

Ever seen any prosecutions for bias? No - because it simply doesn't exist outside the diseased minds of the Tory press who hate the idea of political independence.

You may be right about the overall lack of bias in BBC News & Current Affairs output. However, these three statements indicate misunderstandings of how this all works.

- The newspapers have complete latitude to adopt whatever political position they wish (short of overt racism). There is a range of positions across the main titles, as well as a range of weekly political magazines (that are perhaps more diverse).

- Broadcasting bias is not a criminal offence. It is a regulatory issue. Since OFCOM currently has a review into BBC online impartiality on-going, I think we can conclude that there is at least some smoke, if not actual fire. FWIW, I am much more concerned about Channel 4 News bias than about the BBC. I watch C4 News daily, and I think that they have now got to the stage of open defiance of their duty of impartiality.

- Personally, I think that much of the BBC's output away from News & Current Affairs does display its cultural identity of left-liberalism. Where that starts to be a problem is in areas like political comedy, where although the programming is not formally news, it does have the ability to influence the Public.

OTOH, given the average age of BBC audiences (60+) I'm doubtful of the overall effect other than antagonising people and making them resentful. I'm also open to the idea that left-liberal positions on BBC & C4 balance out the predominantly right-wing views in UK Newspapers.

wild666

Cancel your licences now and let the BBC know that you won't stand for the cancelling of the free licences. and it doesn't matter if you are 75 or under support the pensioners. Go for services that do not require a TV licence NOW TV, Amazon video and Netflix.
Hit the BBC where it hurts in the money department, they won't have the funds to make much new content, relying on their overseas subscribers and sales of their content abroad and to other networks.

onomatopoeia99

wild666 wrote: »

Cancel your licences now and let the BBC know that you won't stand for the cancelling of the free licences. and it doesn't matter if you are 75 or under support the pensioners

I didn't support the Labour party introducing the free licences, so while I object to the underhand way the government has done it by shifting the cost of providing them to the BBC, it would by hypocritical of me to oppose their removal,

Also, I like BBC4 and watching cricket as it is broadcast so I'm keeping my TV licence, thanks.

Doc_N

wild666 wrote: »

Cancel your licences now and let the BBC know that you won't stand for the cancelling of the free licences. and it doesn't matter if you are 75 or under support the pensioners. Go for services that do not require a TV licence NOW TV, Amazon video and Netflix.
Hit the BBC where it hurts in the money department, they won't have the funds to make much new content, relying on their overseas subscribers and sales of their content abroad and to other networks.

Why would anyone want to "Go for services that do not require a TV licence NOW TV, Amazon video and Netflix." when those services actually cost almost as much as the license fee but provide nothing like the range or quality that the BBC provides?

BBC4 and BBC2 alone make the license fee worthwhile, let alone all the other content.

pphillips

Doc_N wrote: »

Why would anyone want to "Go for services that do not require a TV licence NOW TV, Amazon video and Netflix." when those services actually cost almost as much as the license fee but provide nothing like the range or quality that the BBC provides?

BBC4 and BBC2 alone make the license fee worthwhile, let alone all the other content.

Whether or not the license fee is value for money is entirely subjective.

In my opinion, the BBC schedulers are just putting on more and more repeats.
Nothing on BBC4 and BBC2 is of interest to me.
Ever since War & Peace, the quality of BBC programs seem to have gone downhill.

It's not actually correct to say those on demand services cost almost as much as the license fee when Amazon video and Netflix's basic package are both less than half the cost of the license at £5.99 a month each. Also, most people find the cost of NOW TV can be lowered by accepting a reduced price during the cancellation process.

surfsister

pphillips wrote: »

Whether or not the license fee is value for money is entirely subjective.

In my opinion, the BBC schedulers are just putting on more and more repeats.
Nothing on BBC4 and BBC2 is of interest to me.
Ever since War & Peace, the quality of BBC programs seem to have gone downhill.

It's not actually correct to say those on demand services cost almost as much as the license fee when Amazon video and Netflix's basic package are both less than half the cost of the license at £5.99 a month each. Also, most people find the cost of NOW TV can be lowered by accepting a reduced price during the cancellation process.

yes my Netflix is £5.99 a month considerably less than the tv license.

surfsister

For over a million of the oldest people in our country, television is their main form of company. Right now, that’s under threat.

Sign our petition to save free TV for older people.

The BBC has announced they plan to means test TV licences for the over 75s. That means they'll only be free for people receiving Pension Credit. We believe this change will harm millions of older people who rely on their TV. Together, we must demand the Government takes back responsibility for funding free TV licences.

Why means testing isn't the answer
Many people who are most in need of a free TV licence would lose it under a means-tested system.

585,000 so far