BBC Licence fee

[EXKAY120]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think we should be able to opt out of this con if we dont watch it ???
I see there thinking of putting up again in April.

[ARHarh]

EXKAY120 said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else think we should be able to opt out of this con if we dont watch it ???
I see there thinking of putting up again in April.

You can. You only need a license if you watch live TV, record live TV, or watch i player.

[fat80b]

EXKAY120 said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else think we should be able to opt out of this con if we dont watch it ???
I see there thinking of putting up again in April.

It's an interesting one - I understand that there is a major split between older and younger audiences in terms of people who pay for it today - i.e. the older generation pay it to watch live TV, and the younger generation do not.

Anecdotally, in my old team of software engineers (in their 20s), not a single one used the BBC / paid the license fee. My own kids (8 & 10) probably couldn't name a programme that they have watched on live TV. It's all streamed for them.

If this really is the case, then the whole thing is an anachronism and has to be replaced at some point and what we are seeing is the beginning of the end for the BBC. Give it a few years and the license fee payers will be dying off faster than the youngsters will be signing up and revenue will be on the way to zero. It all has to change.

PH Spelling and Grammar Bot said:

It's "their" not "there"

Their - belonging to
There - over there
They're - short for they are

[Spare tyre]

We don’t watch it so don’t need a licence, I never had one pre wife

Wife gets scared by the letters so we pay for it. Go figure

[Mammasaid]

EXKAY120 said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else think we should be able to opt out of this con if we dont watch it ???
I see there thinking of putting up again in April.

Sorry, where's the con?

Watch it, then pay the licence. Don't watch, then fill in the form and don't pay.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

The licence fee is the best money we spend.

If you've ever tried to watch TV in the USA (for example) you'll see what happens if everything is commercial.

So, not having ads on one side means the others keep theirs to acceptable.

And, what is it anyway, about £4 a week?

[funinhounslow]

Yep. You don’t need to tell the BBC you don’t need a licence just as you don’t need to tell Sky, Netflix etc that you aren’t a customer of theirs either.

Even the BBC must realise the licence fee is an anachronism. Why else would they hide behind the “TV Licencing” brand for collection and enforcement?

Also as you need a licence to use the iplayer app - or theoretically face prosecution - why is there no mention of this in the app description? Because it would underline the ridiculousness of it I suspect…

BTW I stopped watching live TV and iplayer ten years ago and stopped paying the licence. Haven’t missed it in the least. You can watch other catch up services quite legitimately without a TV licence just not iplayer.

Edited by funinhounslow on Monday 4th December 11:48

[DanL]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

The licence fee is the best money we spend.

If you've ever tried to watch TV in the USA (for example) you'll see what happens if everything is commercial.

So, not having ads on one side means the others keep theirs to acceptable.

And, what is it anyway, about £4 a week?

Only worthwhile if you watch the BBC, mind you. I’ve not watched their output for years now, and (as I don’t follow sports) I don’t watch live TV, so I don’t have a licence. The saving pays for an advert free streaming service I do watch.

[Hard-Drive]

The law says this...

"The law says you need to be covered by a TV Licence to:

watch or record TV on any channel - via any TV service (e.g. Sky, Virgin, BT, Freeview, Freesat)
watch TV live on any streaming service (e.g. ITVX, Channel 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now, Sky Go)
watch BBC iPlayer*."

I'm confused, how would I watch "live" TV on Amazon Prime? I thought the entire service was streaming?

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

DanL said:

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

The licence fee is the best money we spend.

If you've ever tried to watch TV in the USA (for example) you'll see what happens if everything is commercial.

So, not having ads on one side means the others keep theirs to acceptable.

And, what is it anyway, about £4 a week?

Only worthwhile if you watch the BBC, mind you.

Sorry, you are missing my point. The fact that BBC is ad free keeps the other channels in line.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Hard-Drive said:

I'm confused, how would I watch "live" TV on Amazon Prime? I thought the entire service was streaming?

I watch live Premier Football on Prime time to time.

[119]

I guess it has been longer than a month since the last licence fee thread.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

[redacted]

[EXKAY120]

Mammasaid said:

Sorry, where's the con?

Watch it, then pay the licence. Don't watch, then fill in the form and don't pay.

Is there a "form" we can fill in to opt out ?? i didn't realise there was

[miniman]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

The licence fee is the best money we spend.

If you've ever tried to watch TV in the USA (for example) you'll see what happens if everything is commercial.

So, not having ads on one side means the others keep theirs to acceptable.

And, what is it anyway, about £4 a week?

100% this.

[funinhounslow]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Sorry, you are missing my point. The fact that BBC is ad free keeps the other channels in line.

I’m not sure it does. Most terrestrial TV these days seems to be absolute dross - cooking competitions, dancing competitions, half witted game shows. It’s clear which age group is the biggest purchaser of TV licences so this is who the output is aimed at.

It’s far better to duck and dive out of the various streaming platforms - there is also a lot of dross on there but also a lot of quality - things like Fauda (Netflix) and For All Mankind (Apple). Happy Valley can’t really compete…

I think the days of quality drama and documentaries on terrestrial TV are long gone - I’m thinking of things like Panorama, World in Action, Play for Today.

[Pistom]

I know an old lady who pays even though she doesn't have a TV just to not get the letters!

[croyde]

Aren't you supposed to get a licence even if you only listen to the radio?

Those letters are nasty and I have been getting about 3 a month for the past 4 years. Straight into the recycling.

[funinhounslow]

Pistom said:

I know an old lady who pays even though she doesn't have a TV just to not get the letters!

I had a taste of this when I first (legitimately) stopped paying. They get progressively more threatening with “final demand” in big red letters on the envelope. I had one with advice on what to do if I was taken to court. I can see how it would put the frighteners on a pensioner.

Can you imagine the fuss if Sky or someone sent out letters like this?

[Spare tyre]

funinhounslow said:

Pistom said:

I know an old lady who pays even though she doesn't have a TV just to not get the letters!

I had a taste of this when I first (legitimately) stopped paying. They get progressively more threatening with “final demand” in big red letters on the envelope. I had one with advice on what to do if I was taken to court. I can see how it would put the frighteners on a pensioner.

Can you imagine the fuss if Sky or someone sent out letters like this?

My wife is scared of them

My last house was a repo, lots and lots of scary looking letters from everyone.

They did knock on the door a few times, despite the advice of not letting them in, I’d say “come in and have a look” they soon understood we had no tv