TV License

[santa claus]

How nice of the BBC Trust to decide to freeze the TV License for 2 years. How about no.

I want a reduced license or no license at all. A reasonable sum for the tripe the BBC is now pumping out with its overpaid TV and Radio staff would be, say, £75. Frozen for 10 years.

Geddit Aunty Beeb? Times are hard and we're told they won't get any easier for years. The days of dipping your sticky fingers into our bank accounts for whatever you like are over.

[matty-hodgson]

Once I get some funds together and eventually move out of this absolute hellhole, I'm just gonna have to live without a TV, cos the £170(?) a year is just absolutely ridiculous!

[Barakka]

Sorry totally disagree the TV licence is good value and should stay exactly as it is, the TV and radio services they provide are second to none globally.

[peterb]

£142.50 this year - which is about a pint of beer a day. 7 radio channels and 4 Tv channels seems pretty good value to me - especially when compared with the cost of a sky subscription.

However I do take issue with the attitude of the TV licensing authority who assume that you have a TV and seem to think that the onus is on you to prove that you don't.

[Funkstar]

£142.50 this year - which is about a pint of beer a day. 7 radio channels and 4 Tv channels seems pretty good value to me - especially when compared with the cost of a sky subscription.

However I do take issue with the attitude of the TV licensing authority who assume that you have a TV and seem to think that the onus is on you to prove that you don't.

Plus all the regional content over and above that.

I completely agree peter. Great value for money. I agree abolut the licensing authority as well, although my better half hasn't had any bother since cancelling her license. There are three TVs in that house, no aerial outlet gives a signal and there is no satellite decoder any more either (cable from the dish is also damaged beyond use). The TVs are just for DVDs and Kyrans PS3.

[chrestomanci]

... A reasonable sum for the tripe the BBC is now pumping out...

The thing is one man's tripe is another's quality TV and vice versa.

Personally I never watch East Enders, and hate soap operas in general, but 20 million of my fellow countrymen do watch it. So If I where the director general of the BBC for a day should I cancel East Enders? Of course not, because lots of people do watch it and think it value for money.

You can make the same argument for practically everything the BBC puts out. They are the British Broadcasting Corporation, and they aim to produce programmes for everyone. It is highly unlikely that anyone will like everything they put out, and some people who don't think things through will suggest that all the stuff they don't like is a waste of licence fee money, but that is the Nature of broadcasting. The broadcaster attempts to make programmes that will appeal to as many people as possible in order to attract everyone to their channel.

If you don't want to be paying for stuff that you don't like, can I suggest that you get rid of your telly and go to the cinema instead. That way you will only pay for stuff you want to watch. It will probably work out a lot more expensive though.

For music you had better get rid of all your radios and not even listen to commercial stations, as you never know if a song you don't like might come on, after you have already paid for it by listening to some adverts. You had better download singles from iTunes instead. Don't buy albums, because there might be one track on the album that you don't like.

[leonkehoe]

You're also paying for the masses of excellent BBC websites.

[scaryjim]

TV License again? Aren't we sick of this topic yet?

The BBC's total output is pretty phenomenal really. I occasionally feel guilty that I don't pay a TV license, since I consume so much BBC content anyway (mostly cricket ). But that's how the system works: I don't watch TV, so I don't need a TV license. That probably isn't fair, really, but it's how it is.

[santa claus]

The thing is one man's tripe is another's quality TV and vice versa.

Personally I never watch East Enders, and hate soap operas in general, but 20 million of my fellow countrymen do watch it. So If I where the director general of the BBC for a day should I cancel East Enders? Of course not, because lots of people do watch it and think it value for money.

You can make the same argument for practically everything the BBC puts out. They are the British Broadcasting Corporation, and they aim to produce programmes for everyone. It is highly unlikely that anyone will like everything they put out, and some people who don't think things through will suggest that all the stuff they don't like is a waste of licence fee money, but that is the Nature of broadcasting. The broadcaster attempts to make programmes that will appeal to as many people as possible in order to attract everyone to their channel.

If you don't want to be paying for stuff that you don't like, can I suggest that you get rid of your telly and go to the cinema instead. That way you will only pay for stuff you want to watch. It will probably work out a lot more expensive though.

For music you had better get rid of all your radios and not even listen to commercial stations, as you never know if a song you don't like might come on, after you have already paid for it by listening to some adverts. You had better download singles from iTunes instead. Don't buy albums, because there might be one track on the album that you don't like.

What I would like is to be able to own a television or radio and to have the choice of viewing/listening to BBC content or not. If I want to watch or listen to it, I would need a licence. It would be interesting to see how many people will stop watching Eastenders (which you interestingly associate with the word 'tripe') if they can save £145 a year. Are you against freedom of choice?

TV License again? Aren't we sick of this topic yet?

I'm not and evidently several others are not either. Why contribute at all if you're sick of the subject? You could start a thread about something you're not sick of instead of spewing up in this one.

[redddraggon]

While I think the BBC does provide good content, literally the only BBC content I regularly consume is Casualty on iPlayer on Saturday night/Sunday morning and I don't need a TV license for that. The TV content is not really for me and I don't really have the time to watch the TV.

I don't look at the website that much, and I don't listen to the radio. So I don't feel I'd get my money's worth if I was to pay the license fee. However I live in a flat with a few other people, so I'll definitely stump my share of the communal TV license as I could now imagine watch stuff like the football in my flat with my flatmates instead of the pub.

[Funkstar]

The BBC also pays for a fair bit of the broadcasting equipment and transmission towers used by the other channels. So I guess the question could be; without the TV license how much would we have to pay to private companies to get the equivalent of Freeview, but with adverts on all channels.

[PeterStoba]

£142.50 this year - which is about a pint of beer a day.

39p pints? Tell me where

[Steve]

The BBC built the first DVB-T2 modems, which I'd say is pretty important.

I'm happy to pay the license fee, but I despise the company in charge of collecting it - bunch of arrogant bullies.

[Behemoth]

The BBC built the first DVB-T2 modems, which I'd say is pretty important.

I'm happy to pay the license fee, but I despise the company in charge of collecting it - bunch of arrogant bullies.

Agree with that to be honest. When I was with my ex we didn't have a TV for I think about 6 weeks or so. We'd get a couple of times a week letters reminding us we need a licence. I phoned them up and said look at the moment we don't have a TV why are you hassling us ?

All they could say was unless you allow an investigator into your home to prove you don't have a TV the letters will keep coming.

So I said to the ex right we shan't have a TV then, that lasted all of about 2 weeks as she cracked went to the post office and bought a licence then brought her TV over that she has at her parents.

Oddly enough they still kept on sending the letters !

[santa claus]

The BBC also pays for a fair bit of the broadcasting equipment and transmission towers used by the other channels. So I guess the question could be; without the TV license how much would we have to pay to private companies to get the equivalent of Freeview, but with adverts on all channels.

I don't mind adverts; some are really creative.

As for the cost of 'private TV', I don't know what the cost would be but I would like freedom of choice. If it was too expensive relative to its content, I simply wouldn't have it. It may be reasonably priced anyway, unlike the BBC.

[peterb]

39p pints? Tell me where

In my local at Leeds (when I was student! )

So make that a pint of beer a week - even better value for money!

<---snip

I want a reduced license or no license at all. snip--->

.

You'll get one soon anyway, won't you Santa?! http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-i...and-over-aud3/ Good value as there can't be much else to do at the North pole 11 months of the year! apart from a little reindeer husbandry.