The TV licence makes me rage.

[WhiningShit]

Yawn, the monthly TV Licence thread.

PH; Repetition matters

[SpeckledJim]

jogon said:

Agree entirely. I recently tweeted Virgin media asking if they could scramble all the BBC channels and block iplayer so I could cancel the licence fee. They said it was not currently possible unfortunately.

TV licence isnt to watch BBC, its to watch ANY live TV.

[Hackney]

grumbledoak said:

Hackney said:

£145... that's less than 40p per day.
Surely a well built company director such as yourself doesn't miss 40p per day?

Since it is so cheap I am sure you won't mind paying his for him.

I would but I'm only a humble employee, and I don't have a goatee.

[55palfers]

40p per day is good value for R4 alone. Add in the BBC website and we're quids in.

I have no children, but still pay an absolute shedload for

Perhaps some fertility treatment
Pre natal treatment
Free dental treatment / prescriptions for expectant mothers
Maternity / midwifery care
Childcare
Schooling
Crossing wardens
Enforcement of 20 mph limits by schools.
Buses
etc.

40p per day?

[schmalex]

un1corn said:

Had a threatening letter through today saying my licence expired a month ago.

I find it hilarious that our 'democratic' government forces us to pay money to a terrible organization which i don't even watch, listen to, use or intend to use.

In fact, i cant recall the last time i watched something on the bbc which wasn't bettered by something on sky/commercial channels, and bbc radio (probably with the excption of radio 4) is one giant, large, nick grimsaw hipster bumming pile of ste.

I want to pay for Sky because I watch it.

I don't like being legally forced to pay something that has no interest/relevance/use to me.

Nevermind, it's the bank holiday weekend. There's bound to be something good on tonight. Let's see what my £145 has bought me tonight.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're all paying for 3.5 hours of the eurobk song contest. Nevermind, i'll turn over to BBC 2 and watch the Chelsea f***ing flowershow.

Hmmm, maybe BBC 3 will help?

Nope, coverage of the worlds biggest fking hipster event, the radio 1, big wk weekend. Oh wait, what's that, they're covering the exact same ste on BBC radio aswell?

I might as well tune in to 'Panjabi Hit Squad' on the BBC Asian Network.

I'm all for different tastes an options, which is why I dont pay to watch the Golf or the Boxing on Sky. Yet I'm forced to pay for the BBC regardless of what I can watch.

The sooner we can opt out of the BBC, the better.

Get over yourself. The TV licence is required to watch ANY live TV, not just the BBC.

40p a day is peanuts to pay for the quality of broadcasting that we receive in the UK. Spend a weekend in the US / Canada / Australia, watching and listening to the drivel they have to put up with there and then see if you really want to stop paying for the licence.

Honestly, for the general high quality of broadcasting we receive, the TV licence is the bargain of the century.

[stuart313]

I haven't paid one for well over 10 years, its not difficult to avoid.

[Moominho]

CBeebies is a godsend for those with kids.

[KFC]

schmalex said:

Get over yourself. The TV licence is required to watch ANY live TV, not just the BBC.

40p a day is peanuts to pay for the quality of broadcasting that we receive in the UK. Spend a weekend in the US / Canada / Australia, watching and listening to the drivel they have to put up with there and then see if you really want to stop paying for the licence.

Honestly, for the general high quality of broadcasting we receive, the TV licence is the bargain of the century.

None of the quality arguments are relevant if he doesn't want to watch it though! There doesn't appear to be any justifiable reason to force someone to pay it to receive Sky TV.

[CarAbuser]

Stop paying it.

Scaremongering is the only thing that keeps most people paying. The reality is that you get a death threat each month in the post from the TV licensing agency which you can safely put in the recycling bin without reading.

The "enforcers" are just agency workers being forced into employment because they have been declared fit to work and had their benefits cut. If one ever turns up to ask you why you haven't paid you can just ignore them. Telling them you have no TV just encourages them further.

[cold thursday]

CarAbuser said:

Stop paying it.

Scaremongering is the only thing that keeps most people paying. The reality is that you get a death threat each month in the post from the TV licensing agency which you can safely put in the recycling bin without reading.

The "enforcers" are just agency workers being forced into employment because they have been declared fit to work and had their benefits cut. If one ever turns up to ask you why you haven't paid you can just ignore them. Telling them you have no TV just encourages them further.

This exactly, the threat letters are amusing because they do try frighten you.
That bks does not work with me because I genuinely do not have a TV.

"What you can expect in court" I have had an indecent number of these "Final reminder" letters.
They go straight in the bin.

A Death threat each month indeed Well said

[Condi]

grumbledoak said:

Willy Nilly said:

Move to America, watch their free telly, come home, report back. For all its faults, we have good telly

No we don't. We just have fewer channels of st to choose from. It isn't worth 40p a day.

Yes we do. Watch an average American TV channel and 15mins per hour is adverts. Combined with the number of teasers and 'fluff' they fill the shows with, you get about 30mins of 'program' per hour. Compared with the BBC where they might advertise their own shows for 4 or 5 mins per hour, or less than that if its an hours program with no break.


http://www.tvweek.com/tvbizwire/2014/05/how-many-m...

[Mark A B]

stuart313 said:

I haven't paid one for well over 10 years, its not difficult to avoid.

You've beaten me, but I've not paid in about 8 years. Made one payment then canceled it. Had a few letters but have never bothered to open one.


I'm sure the money will be found from somewhere if everyone stops paying for it.

[Corpulent Tosser]

40p/day, it is worth that to me, I don't watch a lot of TV but as others have said the TV in UK is streets better than most countries.

If everyone stopped paying the TV licence fee the money would indeed come from somewhere, something else would be taxed or an existing tax would increase.

[HewManHeMan]

If you don't like watching 'live' TV, don't watch it. And don't pay the licence fee.

It's not a complex concept.

[98elise]

Willy Nilly said:

Move to America, watch their free telly, come home, report back. For all its faults, we have good telly

He already doesn't watch BBC, can't he report back on what he watches here?

Personally I object to being made to pay for an entertainment service I don't watch. BBC seems to pump out the same crap as every other broadcaster. I would have more sympathy if they didn't try to compete for ratings with dross shows.

I pay for sky and netflix because I want to.

In these arguments there are plenty of people who say they would pay double, or its really cheap. Surely The BBC can go to a subscription service and sell its output to these people, and stop forcing the rest of us to pay for it.

[98elise]

55palfers said:

40p per day is good value for R4 alone. Add in the BBC website and we're quids in.

I have no children, but still pay an absolute shedload for

Perhaps some fertility treatment
Pre natal treatment
Free dental treatment / prescriptions for expectant mothers
Maternity / midwifery care
Childcare
Schooling
Crossing wardens
Enforcement of 20 mph limits by schools.
Buses
etc.

40p per day?

But you were a child once, and you think you shouldn't pay NI because your not sick or old yet?

[buggalugs]

98elise said:

55palfers said:

40p per day is good value for R4 alone. Add in the BBC website and we're quids in.

I have no children, but still pay an absolute shedload for

Perhaps some fertility treatment
Pre natal treatment
Free dental treatment / prescriptions for expectant mothers
Maternity / midwifery care
Childcare
Schooling
Crossing wardens
Enforcement of 20 mph limits by schools.
Buses
etc.

40p per day?

But you were a child once, and you think you shouldn't pay NI because your not sick or old yet?

Maybe he believes it would be fairer if people took private healthcare insurance, to cover their own needs? (<<< ANALOGY TO PAYING FOR SKY)

[Taita]

I think the BBC is almost past its sell by date.

However, Big Weekend is a great event, and their coverage of other festivals is quite good.

Radio 4 current affairs / world service documentaries are great too.

Every now and then they put out a Life / Blue Planet / Planet Earth that is truly stunning quality too.

I was however watching Shark a few weeks ago, in the 'how the programme is made bit' at the end they focused on a bloke snorkeling around trying to find a Shark nursery in a mangrove swamp the size of Surrey. One bloke and a gyrocopter boat to help him out.

It took 11 months to get a few seconds of footage. I wonder how much that cost!

[Kermit power]

Morningside said:

I am slowly coming to the end of watching TV. I think in the last week I must have watched less than 4 hours and those have been from commercial broadcasters.

Maybe the Government will slowly take away this silly stranglehold and force them to work in a more competitive market as one think I hate about the BBC is that they can produce hours of st and still get paid for it.

Or you could look at it from the other side. They can produce hours of stuff which caters to niche interests that otherwise couldn't be produced because it wouldn't be commercially viable.

[buggalugs]

98elise said:

55palfers said:

40p per day is good value for R4 alone. Add in the BBC website and we're quids in.

I have no children, but still pay an absolute shedload for

Perhaps some fertility treatment
Pre natal treatment
Free dental treatment / prescriptions for expectant mothers
Maternity / midwifery care
Childcare
Schooling
Crossing wardens
Enforcement of 20 mph limits by schools.
Buses
etc.

40p per day?

But you were a child once, and you think you shouldn't pay NI because your not sick or old yet?

Maybe he believes it would be fairer if people took private healthcare insurance, to cover their own needs? (<<< ANALOGY TO PAYING FOR SKY)