TV Licence - Why Bother?

Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
TV Licencing said:
TV Licensing said:
The law states that you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as they're being shown on TV. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorders.
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TV Licensing said:
You don't need a licence if you don't use any of these devices to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV - for example, if you use your TV only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch ‘catch up’ services like BBC iPlayer or 4oD.​
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wmrcomputers said:
My confision now is that they've mentioned 4oD - that's not BBC though is it? Or are they using that as an example of reverse psycology?
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As I've hinted above, they are masters of instilling confusion. Even that statement of theirs isn't strictly true - if you are operating a device that is receiving a television broadcast then you need a licence, even if you aren't watching it. It is the reception that is licensable. If they caught you with a set on, they would not (and rightly so) let you off if you weren't actually watching it.

The BBC News website may sometimes lead you inadvertently to find yourself downloading a live TV stream, without always making it clear beforehand that this is what will happen - a bit naughty, I feel.
 
wmrcomputers

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
tek-monkey said:
Do you need one to receive live BBC, or to receive any live TV?
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This was kind of my point. They make it SOUND genrally like it applies to all channels, but they clearly state elsewhere that the TV licence fee keeps BBC channels free from advertisments etc etc, so surely they can only enforce the above with regards to the BBC channels. We pay for watching ITV, 4 etc. through the products we purchase that are advertised on them surely?
 
wmrcomputers

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
And there's where more confusion starts - just calling it a "TV Licence". It should be called a "BBC TV reception licence" or similar words.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
tek-monkey said:
Do you need one to receive live BBC, or to receive any live TV?
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You need a licence to receive any live television broadcasts in the UK - even foreign ones broadcast from foreign territory.

A Spanish friend of mine went to live in Dublin some years ago and ended up, through no real fault of his own, in getting a summons for not having a TV licence. He took it to the local Garda station, as instructed, and handed it over the desk. The lad on the desk asked him "How long have you been here?", as he was still obviously foreign at that stage, "Two months", he answered. The guard just tore it in half, screwed it up and threw it into a bin. My friend was horrified, having grown up under Franco and having a fear of authority as a result - "What do I do now?", he asked - "Anything you like", he was told, "just feck off out of here."
 
wmrcomputers

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
proactive said:
You need a TV license to receive and watch ANY live TV in the UK. So BBC, ITV, Sky etc.
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How can they do this??! All channels other than BBC ones make their income through advertising. We are forced to watch adverts to pay for the broadcasts. As far as I was aware, the TV Licence was for BBC services only. If it's applicable for all channels then why the hell are we watching ads!
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
There used to be all sorts of anomalies with the radio licence, once portable radios became available. You used to have to have a separate licence for a fitted car radio. I had a radio that could operate as a portable, but slid into a box fitted in the car and then worked using the power of the car battery - "Is that fitted or portable, Officer?"

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..so, they abandoned the radio licence requirement altogether in 1971 and just assumed that most people would have a TV licence anyway.
 
A

andy w

Well-Known Forumite
The TV license is also an anomaly based on the principle of TV users funding the service that upto the late 50's was solely provided by the BBC. With the advent of commercial TV there was a debate over the funding of the BBC with the pro's and con's of whether adverts or TV license fee being the best way. Nowadays with so many channels you do wonder if the TV license should be compulsory even if people don't watch the BBC channels.
The funny thing is that what you get for your license fee is far better and cheaper than what you would get for the basic subscription with SKY, but I do believe the BBC produces too much dross and could be cut back to two TV channels again and concentrate on quality programmes and cutting out the daytime in filling and too much of the same thing such as cooking programmes.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
When the BBC started in the 1920s it was originally the British Broadcasting Company, until it was nationalised as an essential asset. It was a state broadcasting service, and a licence fee was probably a reasonable way of funding it and the subsequent infrastructure that became necessary. Wirelesses were the size of washing machines and were, essentially, fixed household structures - televisions were the same for many decades. Once portable radio devices became widely available, the licencing system became rather inappropriate and the radio licence was abandoned, as there wasn't much income involved by 1971. The TV licence, however, represents a much greater amount of revenue, hence the reluctance to end it. I suspect that the household broadcasting licence will be the ultimate answer.

Commercial television and, subsequently, commercial radio, also made use of the BBC's transmitters.

There are some who have ideological objections to any state broadcasting these days. They prefer to be able to manipulate their own 'independent' broadcasters..

The World Service used to be funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but is now funded direct from the licence fee, without there being any additional charge to allow for it.

The strange part is that Channel 4 is, and always has been, state owned, despite being a commercial channel. There's often talk of privatising it and it may happen one day. Strange that a nationalised industry should have been created from scratch under Thatcher...

I've never really understood why the BBC is bothered about ratings - except as a way of justifying the licence fee.

We wouldn't have started from here, but we are here....
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
andy w said:
the BBC ... could be cut back to two TV channels...
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Wot no radio? :o

When you think of everything the tv license funds i think it remarkably good value for money. There may be some chaff and things that i don't watch/listen to but overall i think the Beeb is a fantastic institution worthy of our support.

So there.
 
A

andy w

Well-Known Forumite
Yes the BBC is good value but it could be much better and more focused on quality if it wasn't trying to be all things to all people. Why not leave all the populist Xfactor, make over programs, cookery etc programmes to the commercial channels and concentrate on what it does well like it's natural history and current affairs, A lot of which is on BBC3 and BBC4 should be on 1 and 2.
I would also distribute the license fee to other broadcasters to fund 'Public Interest TV' ie such as ITN which is a pale shadow of it's self compared to the 1980's.
 
Alan B'Stard

Alan B'Stard

Well-Known Forumite
I've not had a television license for about 4 years. I was living in a rented house that had such poor reception I ended up watching mainly dvd's and internet stuff. When the license expired I decided not to renew and have not bought one since.

I do not have sky or virgin and will only watch internet catch-up stuff and downloadable stuff.

It is a broadcast receiving license, for anybody who has one, it used to say this on the front of it.

As I do not choose to watch anything as it's being broadcast, I don't require a license.

I've recieved a letter from the tv people which I returned stating that I do not require a license and they have confirmed receipt of this. I have never had a visit and if I ever do, the arial is unplugged anyway and I can state with a clear conscience that I do not require a license.
 
That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

Well-Known Forumite
My mum got rid of her TV about 10 years ago and doesn't have a license - apart from the initial hassling they have left her alone.

She is a bit of a curtain twitchier tho and swears they have a unmarked surveillance van outside her house that looks like this:

satttruck.jpg
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I am led to believe that were only ever four vans that actually worked, though hand-held detectors were alleged to be around from the late eighties. A lot of TVs are against party walls and definite location in a specific property was often difficult. Looking in through the window was a far more accurate technique.

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Anyway, it's probably only a matter of time before it all ends up as BBSkyC.
 
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