TV Licence

andrewb · 21-02-2008, 18:46

Should we have it or not?

I think we should have it because of its BBC parliament and such which I find vital to my degree. However personally I don't watch much else on there. Should we simply just be paying less? Or should the BBC be forced to get money from advertising like every other station?

What really annoys me is that I'm being inundated with letters from them demanding I buy a licence and that they're coming round to conduct an investigation.

I don't have a tv, nor any other receiving equipment (I use iPlayer to watch things which are not live and don't require a tv licence). I don't feel I should be presumed guility simply because there is no licence at my address. The letters are rather threatening, why should I be under investigation and have presumed guilt.

The police don't send letters to everyone asking if they've committed a crime, resulting in investigations of everyone in the country. It's just totally unncessary. Not to mention a huge great waste of paper.

panther · 21-02-2008, 18:53

oh god dont mention Tv licence to me!
mines due at the end of feb and have to pay out £136 nearly

its not worth it!
they should just advertise on bbc like the rest do!
it will be going up again in april ....for what???, a load of ****e on telly

katex · 21-02-2008, 18:55

Don't see why you should get so uppity Cyfr .. the cost on checking people even if they haven't got a telly, will still outweigh the ones that have and don't buy a licence, which puts the cost of those that have one and buy a licence .

Well, I know what I mean anyway..

Neil · 21-02-2008, 18:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyfr

I don't have a tv, nor any other receiving equipment (I use iPlayer to watch things which are not live and don't require a tv licence).

For now .

Neil · 21-02-2008, 19:03

This is from the TV licensing website

Quote:

Do I need a TV Licence if I only watch programmes online?
It makes no difference how you watch TV - whether it's on your laptop, PC or mobile phone or through a digital box, DVD recorder or TV set - if you use any device to receive television programmes as they're being shown on TV, the law requires you to be covered by a TV Licence.

You will not need a TV Licence to view video clips on the internet, as long as what you are viewing is not being shown on TV at the same time as you are viewing it.

Quote:

Will I need a TV Licence to watch programmes on BBC iPlayer?A TV Licence is needed to watch TV programmes as they're being shown on TV.
At the moment, the BBC iPlayer only offers access to BBC programmes after they have been broadcast - either to download, or via streaming 'on demand'. It is not providing a service where programmes are streamed 'live' at the same time as they are being shown on TV.

Therefore, if you are using your PC or laptop solely to watch TV programmes from the BBC iPlayer service in its current form, you do not need to be covered by a TV Licence.

There are plans to offer live streaming at some time in the future, but no date has been confirmed. When this service is introduced to the BBC iPlayer, then you will need to be covered by a valid TV Licence.

Quote:

Will I need a TV Licence to watch programmes on other internet television services like those offered by Channel 4 or ITV?If you are watching programmes as they are being shown on TV from other services, for example Channel 4 or ITV, then you will need to be covered by a valid TV Licence. If you are watching these services at home you will be covered by your existing TV Licence.

SO is it only iPlayer you watch or do you occasionally break the law and watch live programmes from ITV or maybe you are a Big Brother fan and watch 24/7 online?

Loz · 21-02-2008, 19:04

I personally think it is a waste of money,like many people i have talked to i don't watch a lot of programmes on the BBC,i have sky and tend to watch whats on there.
I think it is wrong that people pay a subscription for sky and pay the tv licence.
I wouldn't mind more adverts if it meant we didn't have to pay.

MargaretR · 21-02-2008, 19:06

TV Licensing - TV Licence Information
Ignore - others got there 1st

slinky · 21-02-2008, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loz

I personally think it is a waste of money,like many people i have talked to i don't watch a lot of programmes on the BBC,i have sky and tend to watch whats on there.
I think it is wrong that people pay a subscription for sky and pay the tv licence.
I wouldn't mind more adverts if it meant we didn't have to pay.

I agree with this.... we pay for sky and we pay for BBC .....sommet not quite right there

But no-one challenges it, so they just get on with it, same as everything else in this sh!te hole of a country.

Bonnyboy · 21-02-2008, 19:19

I resent paying for the TV licence. The BBC should stand on it’s own two feet, why the hell should they have a handout. I’d rather they gave me a choice as to whether I watch their programmes then bill me on that basis. They broadcast worldwide, do they ask other countries to pay ?

Rosencrantz · 21-02-2008, 19:35

I'm proud to pay for a channel with international respect - and I'm proud to pay for a channel that flies the British flag with integrity. Admittedly Saturday night television can be a little tawdry but we pay for some excellent reporting and some very interesting programmes for a wide range of people.

In fact, I'd be embarrassed to have the British Broadcasting Corporation reduced to petty adverts and product placement just to get by. Look at all the citations on Wikipedia that come from the BBC, look at the amount of pages on digg and StumbleUpon that link to the BBC. We have a company that has real respect, and I don't want to ruin that by not paying a petty liscence fee.

The strong-arm tactics to get them out of us, however, are counterproductive at best.

cashman · 21-02-2008, 19:37

have always resented the TV, license, as others have said garbage shown in the main, BBC World News is shown all over Europe,probably further afield, they do not have to pay for that "Dubious" privalige, they should stand or fall by advertising as other channels.

Bonnyboy · 21-02-2008, 19:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosencrantz

I'm proud to pay for a channel with international respect - and I'm proud to pay for a channel that flies the British flag with integrity. Admittedly Saturday night television can be a little tawdry but we pay for some excellent reporting and some very interesting programmes for a wide range of people.

In fact, I'd be embarrassed to have the British Broadcasting Corporation reduced to petty adverts and product placement just to get by. Look at all the citations on Wikipedia that come from the BBC, look at the amount of pages on digg and StumbleUpon that link to the BBC. We have a company that has real respect, and I don't want to ruin that by not paying a petty liscence fee.

The strong-arm tactics to get them out of us, however, are counterproductive at best.

I’ll send you my bill if you want…you can be doubly proud

panther · 21-02-2008, 19:38

oh bloody hell another student....

...........

Rosencrantz · 21-02-2008, 19:45

As soon as advertising is involved the BBC would shoot downhill. You'd get nothing on BBC Four about art or politics or music, the whole thing would go the way of BBC Three. BBC Parliament would be down the pan. I wouldn't want to lose things like that.

jambutty · 21-02-2008, 19:47

I think that we should first deal with the myth that the BBC equals the TV licence.

IT DOESN’T!

If the BBC suddenly ceased to exist today there would still be a TV license to buy. In the same way that we buy a Road Fund License for our motorised vehicle to enable us to legally use the public highway.

You need a license to own a firearm.
A pub landlord needs a license to sell liquor as does any premises that sells booze.
A pub needs a license to play music in the pub.
A tobacconist needs a license to sell tobacco products.
You need a license to operate a HAM radio or a CB radio.
There was a time when people had to have a dog license to keep a dog.
We even had to have a license to listen to the radio whether it was from a ‘proper’ wireless set or as ‘cable’ radio from Uni-Relay or Rediffusion etc.
We need a license for a variety of things and they are issued by the government and the government gets the money.

In the case of the TV license much of the revenue generated goes to fund the BBC and the BBC is charged with collecting the license fee. If the BBC didn’t do it the government would set up yet another QUANGO to collect the license money and probably a different Quango to check on who has and has not got a license.

If there were no TV license fee (and it would take a change in the law for that to happen) the funding of the BBC would still have to be made from the public purse – that’s you and me. OK! So let the BBC stand on its own two feet as it were. That means that it would become a private enterprise and any profits would go to shareholders and fat cat bosses.

It is difficult to get hold of the actual figures but the BBC does make a profit from the programmes that are sold to other TV companies and all over the world.

Currently £135.50 (that’s a fraction over 37p per day) it represents extremely good value when you tot up what we get for it.

With the digibox we can view more than 30 channels for FREE or rather for 37p per day. We can also listen to any radio station that we can pick up. Many of them are BBC local radio stations.

Read all about the license fee at http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/licencefee/

If you watch just one film per day you are making a profit on the deal. 37p to watch a film in the comfort of your home as opposed to several pounds to watch it in a cinema. Not that there are many of them left now.

Last weekend I watched THREE FA cup matches and it only cost me 74p. On Tuesday I watched a European Cup game for 37p and any second now I’m going to watch the Uefa Cup match on channel 5 for another 37p. Beat that for value.

Even if the license fee went up to £1 a day (£365pa) it would still be the best value ever.

So I vote a resounding YES! Keep the TV license fee.