TV license needed for live TV, but why?

Cornucopia

worried_jim wrote: »

It certainly does! My vpn places my pc in Stockholm and the BBC website has plenty of ads for Cathy Pacific etc on it!

You don't even have to look that far - the BBC is now sole owner of a set of 7 UKTV commercial channels, all of which are funded by advertising and/or subscription revenue.

oldernonethewiser

Cornucopia wrote: »

You don't even have to look that far - the BBC is now sole owner of a set of 7 UKTV commercial channels, all of which are funded by advertising and/or subscription revenue.

They are owned by the commercial arm of the BBC, which has been around in some form for decades so there has been the potential for money to come back to the BBC from commercial enterprises.

jackieblack

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'm in the throes of giving up my license. It does seem a bizarre ruling. There's not much I use BBC for these days, except a couple of programmes I will be annoyed I can no longer watch (e.g. Who Do You Think You Are).

You might want to leave it a few weeks- there’s a new series starting next Monday!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00071wc

Cornucopia

oldernonethewiser wrote: »

They are owned by the commercial arm of the BBC, which has been around in some form for decades so there has been the potential for money to come back to the BBC from commercial enterprises.

It just seems bizarre that the BBC is opposed to funding TV through advertising, except for the 7 commercial TV channels it already owns.

oldernonethewiser

Cornucopia wrote: »

It just seems bizarre that the BBC is opposed to funding TV through advertising, except for the 7 commercial TV channels it already owns.

They have had a duplicitous mind-set in this area for many years.



The "craft" arm, BBC Resources, became for a while a wholly owned subsidiary and could make programmes for anyone (within reason).


Their relationship with commercialisation is one reason why I say I genuinely do not believe the BBC knows where it is heading or how it will get there.

pphillips

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'm in the throes of giving up my license. It does seem a bizarre ruling. There's not much I use BBC for these days, except a couple of programmes I will be annoyed I can no longer watch (e.g. Who Do You Think You Are).

Most of the time these days the BBC's got nothing to offer when I look through in the evenings on iPlayer.

As for not watching other channels live, there are some programmes which don't appear on their catchup services.

I'm going to give it a go without a license and see if I miss BBC at all. I'm not one to be interested in watching live TV as such, so long as I can catch up with things I'm happy enough using the other channels on that basis.

I know that if I do want to watch BBC/iplayer I can always reverse my decision and buy a license again, but I bet I don't end up missing it.

I guess, in part, I'm miffed that I can only watch one telly at a time - whereas others pay the same license fee and have 12 tellies on the go in their houses! I bet the Queen's got 150 in her Castle, for her staff...... I bet she's not paying for 150 licenses. Also, I had a sibling who lived alone - but had to work 100 miles away for work, so rented a bedsit - she had to pay for TWO licenses, yet she was only ever in one location at a time potentially watching one TV.

The tv licence is practically an antique that belongs in a bygone era when the BBC was the only tv channel that existed. It has been left behind by catch up tv including, Youtube, now tv, amazon prime and netflix (where ironically, you can watch some BBC programmes) . However, the license fee has become the comfort blanket that is suffocating the BBC, causing it to become lazy and extravagantly wasteful. It's very odd that this bizarre relic is still in existence but the reason for this is because the BBC is basically an arm of the state that the government can take control of. The licence fee makes it look independent but is actually an unfortunate regressive tax set by the government. Everyone pays the same amount, whether your a married millionaire with a large family all living under the same roof or a single person on the minimum wage living in a one bedroom flat. Unfortunately, the only way to change the status quo is to boycott the tv license and either, just manage without BBC programs or find somewhere else to watch them. I think most would agree that this is for the greater good.

poppasmurf_bewdley

pphillips wrote: »

The tv licence is practically an antique that belongs in a bygone era when the BBC was the only tv channel that existed. It has been left behind by catch up tv including, Youtube, now tv, amazon prime and netflix (where ironically, you can watch some BBC programmes) . However, the license fee has become the comfort blanket that is suffocating the BBC, causing it to become lazy and extravagantly wasteful. It's very odd that this bizarre relic is still in existence but the reason for this is because the BBC is basically an arm of the state that the government can take control of. The licence fee makes it look independent but is actually an unfortunate regressive tax set by the government. Everyone pays the same amount, whether your a married millionaire with a large family all living under the same roof or a single person on the minimum wage living in a one bedroom flat. Unfortunately, the only way to change the status quo is to boycott the tv license and either, just manage without BBC programs or find somewhere else to watch them. I think most would agree that this is for the greater good.

I don't for one moment think that most people would agree with that statement. The vast majority of people I know are perfectly happy paying for the TV licence.

If people can afford the money for a TV set, then they can afford to pay to watch it. It does amaze me that someone will pay £500-£1000 for a TV and balk at paying £150 for a licence.

pphillips

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

I don't for one moment think that most people would agree with that statement. The vast majority of people I know are perfectly happy paying for the TV licence.

I think you'd be surprised if you presented those people with a scenario where the license fee doesn't exist just how little support the license fee would have. Of course people are currently happy to pay the tv license because it's a criminal offence to watch tv channels without one. However, this prevents an open discussion on all the facts and funding options for the future of the BBC (if indeed you want the BBC to have a future).

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

If people can afford the money for a TV set, then they can afford to pay to watch it. It does amaze me that someone will pay £500-£1000 for a TV and balk at paying £150 for a licence

The license fee is an ongoing payment so compared with the average life of a TV of 5-7 years, the license fee costs the same as a TV between £750-£1050. I don't know how many people pay that much for a TV, I only know that mine was under £300!

oldernonethewiser

pphillips wrote: »

I think you'd be surprised if you presented those people with a scenario where the license fee doesn't exist just how little support the license fee would have. Of course people are currently happy to pay the tv license because it's a criminal offence to watch tv channels without one. However, this prevents an open discussion on all the facts and funding options for the future of the BBC (if indeed you want the BBC to have a future).





The license fee is an ongoing payment so compared with the average life of a TV of 5-7 years, the license fee costs the same as a TV between £750-£1050. I don't know how many people pay that much for a TV, I only know that mine was under £300!

It is watching live TV that is the issue. Plenty of ways to enjoy television programmes legally without paying for a licence.



I know people who have paid nearly £2k for TVs - to each their own.

cajef

pphillips wrote: »

boycott the tv license and either, just manage without BBC programs

What good would that do, you still need a licence to watch any other channels as they are being broadcast live and by the way it is a licence not a license.