• Replies 14 replies
  • Subscribers 35 subscribers
  • Views 461 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

TV license - should we have to pay it?

Iain

I noticed another news article today about the TV license in the UK and how the government are working to block any way for you to avoid it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom


I see it is going up to £174.50 from April and looking at the services on offer I'm pretty sure this is rubbish value for money as it is the same (give or take about a pound) as a netflix subscription but with a fraction of the selection, never mind that the majority of the BBCs content is getting very old.

It seems it is nearly impossible to avoid the license fee too and the loopholes are being closed all the time.

For example, if you just want to watch Netflix then you still need to pay a license fee for the rights to watch streaming media. Absurd! It means you are spending £350 just to watch netflix.

I used one of the loopholes back in the 1990s (having 2 homes at the time as I lived many hours from where I worked) and I was hounded by the TV licensing people in spite of writing to them pointing out their own rules about why I didn't need one for my flat.

They sent letters implying they would break in with bailiffs (they have no right to do this) and all sorts of other bordeline illegal threats and it was only when I met one "enforcer" face to face on a day off that I had a huge arguement and gave him a printout of their own rules and threatened him with legal action for harassment that they left me alone.

From what I have heard from others this sort of intimidation technique is not uncommon and it is all being paid for by your license fees oddly enough.

Less Aunty Beeb and more Mom from Futurama.

Do you think the BBC is value for money? Should it still be forced on us (to pay for) in this supposed age of freedom of choice?

I think my opinion is clear but what is yours?

Parents

  • I wouldn't have an issue with advertising on the BBC, it's everywhere else. 

    If you are exclusively streaming a none-bbc product why should you pay extra for something you don't consume. I think the issue is that if you have a device that is capable of receiving TV you could possibly watch a BBC product, how can they possibly police it, would your TV licence have a pin number or qr code. I have discovery+ and every now and again you have to sign back in using a pin or qr code. This irritates my wife no end when she's trying to watch the cycling.

    I rarely watch the BBC and never listen to BBC radio. I don't watch soaps or light entertainment and reality TV makes my skin crawl.

    Then you get into the issue of pirating. There are so many streaming services and it'll cost a "few bob" to have all of them and even then they might not have the show or film you want.

Reply

  • I wouldn't have an issue with advertising on the BBC, it's everywhere else. 

    If you are exclusively streaming a none-bbc product why should you pay extra for something you don't consume. I think the issue is that if you have a device that is capable of receiving TV you could possibly watch a BBC product, how can they possibly police it, would your TV licence have a pin number or qr code. I have discovery+ and every now and again you have to sign back in using a pin or qr code. This irritates my wife no end when she's trying to watch the cycling.

    I rarely watch the BBC and never listen to BBC radio. I don't watch soaps or light entertainment and reality TV makes my skin crawl.

    Then you get into the issue of pirating. There are so many streaming services and it'll cost a "few bob" to have all of them and even then they might not have the show or film you want.

Children
No Data