discussion The TV licence ?

[Guest]

personaly don't agree with it feel conned!! as I don't watch much bbc, but we have to pay to get channels then pay more on top of that for certain channels ie discovery, history etc. but were being more and more forced into it as sky keep buying the rights for things., I used to love watching all the f1 on bbc but now can only see highlights. unless pay for the f1 channel, which wont do as don't watch much sport ,cant stand football!!

 

[Ian M]

And I have to ask. Do you also have to pay a licence in the UK to own a PC or a smart phone?

We do. A 'medielicence costs DKK2460 her in Denmark, that is around £200 so stop ya whinging!

BBC do make some great programs though

Ian M

 

[PaulTRose]

im kind of mixed on this

i dont mind paying a fee...........i object to how much the fee is..........i object to seeing it spent paying 'stars' huge wages

i have no problem with their output, i like lots of programmes they make and listen to BBC radio everyday, and often use the iPlayer but i object the the fact that it is a 'tax' of sorts that they take for granted which they squander as they feel fit, especially when they make even more money from it when they sell programmes abroad

i think it would be easier just to make them go commercial and be done with it..........often read how they argue against this saying it would cause the 'quality of programmes to drop'.....how?....if commercial companies can make programmes of equal quality to the Beeb then that argument dosnt hold water

 

[stona]

If the BBC as a public broadcasting service isn't financed in some way from the public purse, be it from a licence fee or some other form of taxation, direct or indirect, then we will have no public broadcasting service and we may well find the level of programming falling towards the lowest common denominator which means cheap TV.

How much Kim Kardashian or Real Housewives of Somewhere can you take?

I receive literally hundreds of channels in my package (Virgin keep upgrading it for free every time I threaten to move to another supplier as I'm a 'valued customer') but I hardly watch any of them.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

.if commercial companies can make programmes of equal quality to the Beeb then that argument dosnt hold water

They can, but rarely do. Such programmes usually involve substantial investment and that is a risk which many commercial companies (not just TV production companies) are unwilling to take. Far easier and safer to make some cheap reality programme for the masses than a 'Horizon' for a potentially more limited audience.

Cheers

Steve

 

[PaulTRose]

i disagree there................and equally the beeb make complete garbage just like the commercial channels

 

[spanner570]

I'd love to add my comments to this, but I can't.....My wife and I haven't had a T.V. licence for four years now.

We don't miss it, nor want to return to it - ever. We've been camping close to my son's for the last 3 days and what we saw on his flat screen only helps us realise just why we gave it up in the first place.

For entertainment (apart from actually doing things and talking to each other) we get a perverse pleasure out of watching people's reaction when we tell them we don't watch t.v. It's as though we have just crawled out of a garden pond! Luckily, our amazing revelation usually stops the conversation dead...then we can get on with having a drink!!!

 

[Alan 45]

I'd love to add my comments to this, but I can't.....My wife and I haven't had a T.V. licence for four years now.We don't miss it, nor want to return to it - ever. We've been camping close to my son's for the last 3 days and what we saw on his flat screen only helps us realise just why we gave it up in the first place.

For entertainment (apart from actually doing things and talking to each other) we get a perverse pleasure out of watching people's reaction when we tell them we don't watch t.v. It's as though we have just crawled out of a garden pond! Luckily, our amazing revelation usually stops the conversation dead...then we can get on with having a drink!!!

Fair play Ron isn't it funny how people are shocked if you don't live your life the same as them ?

Each to there own

 

[spanner570]

Fair play Ron isn't it funny how people are shocked if you don't live your life the same as them ?Each to there own

To each his own indeed.....We have even been to 'do's' and had people we don't know, come over to us and ask if we are the couple who don't watch t.v.! Dead true....

 

[Guest]

Well, all I can say on the subject is my own opinion

I believe this is like a tax. You have to pay for something wether you want it or not. Yes, it can be argued that its there if you need it. If the BBC was like, for example, Sky TV then I personally wouldnt pay for it and would be happy to not recieve it.

Secondly, the OP says about value for money. Well, value for money is a personal justification. How many of us have been told that scale modelling is a waste of money. To the person making the comment perhaps so, but to the person whose hobby is to pain stakingly create something in minute format its not. On the other hand, I think spending £200 on a night out on a friday is a waste but to some its actually a lifeline.

Thirdly, I have the belief that the BBC is a stealth advertiser. They run "TV Trailers" for up and coming programs encouraging you to watch. You then watch them and then they inform you that this program is now available to buy on DVD. By coincidence the DVD is owned by the BBC.

If you didnt watch the program you probably wouldnt buy the DVD so the "TV Trailers" are in fact a form of advertising, IMO.

However, I can understand how some people believe that they get value for money for the TV licence. My Great Aunt used to watch the 9 o clock news every night then retire to bed. That was her lifeline and she believed that the BBC was worth every penny, even though she watched that one and only program daily, and who am I to take that away fro her.

 

[Alan 45]

To each his own indeed.....We have even been to 'do's' and had people we don't know, come over to us and ask if we are the couple who don't watch t.v.! Dead true....

Ha , look at it this way your obviously giving the something to talk about that their drab little lives apre interested in

 

[Guest]

if I go out for the night I pay for it, if I go to a football match I pay for it, I don't watch Dr Poo or Boringthenation St or any other rubbish (just my opinion ) that the Bloated Broadcasting Conmen turn out so why should I pay. I wouldn't expect anyone else to pay for my golf club membership just so I can enjoy playing. but any offers would be gratefully accepted. and I promise you wont have to watch me play.

good topic

 

[Guest]

i just wanted to find out how many people think this is value for money ?

I am probably in the minority, but I think this is an essential service that has done a lot for television in the UK, not just for the content that they do, but other services too.

The BBC have the only radio stations not supported by advertising. You can't step out and make a cup of tea during an ad break in the car, you really are forced to be bored on commercial radio during their breaks.

The BBC introduced the iPlayer, FOR FREE. In order to compete, the advertising supported companies have had to offer the same service, but it's also free - only putting a couple of ads where they would be on the tellybox. This service may in part be negated by a PVR that most people will have these days, but I know wherever I am with a computer and an internet connection I can catch up on what people are talking about. Even Sky have to step up and give away "box sets" for free as part of their existing subscription, though to be fair this is more a response to Netflix than the iPlayer.

The BBC have BBC4. This may largely go under the radar, but there's some fantastic stuff on this channel with a lot of historical documentaries and thought provoking programmes. This is because output like this is stipulated in the charter. Without the charter we may as well resign ourselves to reality tv, cookery programmes and -Factor knock offs as a permanent output.

The BBC don't have adverts. This is important because again the other channels have to compete. If we moved to the sheer number of adverts on American Television where a 30 minute show can regularly fill only 20 minutes with 5 advert breaks it would be too jarring for us by comparison. By having no adverts the other channels are forced to have a reasonable amount without going full on Yankie Doodle.

The BBC have the 6 Nations.

 

[Guest]

The 6 channels, wow, 2 don't even start till 7pm

BBC's 3 & 4 turn into the two CBeebies channels during the day and swap over at the same time, there's always 6 continuous channels running (excluding HD channels).

 

[Guest]

I'd love to add my comments to this, but I can't.....My wife and I haven't had a T.V. licence for four years now.

That doesn't stop you consuming the output of the Beeb, the only requirements to having a TV License are:

You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

BBC's 3 & 4 turn into the two CBeebies channels during the day and swap over at the same time, there's always 6 continuous channels running (excluding HD channels).

Sorry but 3 and 4 don't show anything until 7pm, there is no childrens tv.

On another note, if your TV provider ( Sky, Virgin etc ) supplies your channels, do they pay a licence fee?

Adrian

 

[spanner570]

That doesn't stop you consuming the output of the Beeb, the only requirements to having a TV License are:You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.

Yes I know,. A good mate of mine, who's a Barrister, kindly gave me all the legal stuff on what we could or couldn't watch without a licence.....What to do, say - or rather not say - to the licence wallahs who still send us threatening letters.

I explained to my buddy we have been weaned off the t.v. for so long now, we wouldn't go back to watching the box even if we were payed for the dubious privilege of doing so....He ordered another round of drinks!!

Anyway, enough said....We seem to be wandering off Alan's initial post.

 

[Guest]

Sorry but 3 and 4 don't show anything until 7pm, there is no childrens tv.

Yes, but CBBC and Cbeebies stop at 7pm to free up the two channels for BBC 3 and 4 - you even have to change channel for some reason. BBC's 3/4 then stop in the middle of the night to free up the two channels again for CBBC and Cbeebies to use it again at 7am, again forcing a channel change even though it is in fact the same channel. Madness I know, but that's how it works!

On another note, if your TV provider ( Sky, Virgin etc ) supplies your channels, do they pay a licence fee?

No, it's your responsibility to have a license fee, if applicable, however the content is delivered to you.

 

[Guest]

Anyway, enough said....We seem to be wandering off Alan's initial post.

Fair enough! I think I can summarise my tuppence as:

LONG LIVE THE BEEB!!

 

[BBdave]

We only rent movies or watch a music channel on ours so yes the licence fee is a waste for us.

The larger part of my family were bought up without TV our neighbours don't have one I find nothing unusual in not owning one.

Dave