Does anyone still buy a tv license?

[GortonBlue62]

Wish I had the balls to not pay it. Just stumped up £145.50 again and for what?

A left wing, tory hating, pro EU, pile of shite. It's like being forced to pay for a subscription to the Guardian so that I'm allowed to buy the Telegraph.

The licence fee has no place, or future, in a world where content can be delivered on demand.

Any one who thinks the BBC is great value for money should be allowed to pay the licence fee, the rest of us should be allowed to opt out.

 

[GortonBlue62]

Anyone who claims there's nothing worth watching/listening to/reading on any of the BBC's outputs is a liar. It's the best media organisation in the world, especially when compared to Sky or ITV.

Sky has the moral high ground here.

If you don't want Sky you don't have to pay for it.

If you hate the BBC, as I do, but still want to watch TV, you still need to pay £145.50 per annum for the privilege.

It's not that I don't think some of the BBC's output is high quality, it's that given a choice I would keep may money and do without.

If the BBC is as marvellous as it's apologists claim, why not test the theory by giving people the choice?

 

[quiet_riot]

Seems not many are aware here, but the TV license is required not only for BBC services, but if you watch ANY television 'live'

You need to be covered by a TV Licence to

• watch or record live TV programmes on any channel
• download or watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.

 

[hawkhurst]

How does Sky have the moral high ground? It can cost upwards of £100 a month and yet it is inundated with adverts every 10-15 minutes? Sky also relies heavily on BT and the government for a lot of its communications infrastructure, subsidised by the tax payer. Yes, you're right in saying that I don't have to have Sky, equally I don't have to have a television at all. The BBC is revered globally because of its quality and £12 a month or whatever it is for BBC television, radio, and website (all advert free) is pretty decent. It's the breading ground of some amazingly talented people who have gone on to produce some brilliant and culturally significant work. Most of the stuff worth watching on Netflix and the channels on Sky are re-runs of BBC shows.

The reason they attempt to enforce charging is like anything else, if you don't enforce it people won't pay for it. If there were no repercussions for not paying council tax or car tax people wouldn't pay for that either, especially if they don't necessarily see the value in it.

 

[hawkhurst]

Sky has the moral high ground here.

If you don't want Sky you don't have to pay for it.

If you hate the BBC, as I do, but still want to watch TV, you still need to pay £145.50 per annum for the privilege.

It's not that I don't think some of the BBC's output is high quality, it's that given a choice I would keep may money and do without.

If the BBC is as marvellous as it's apologists claim, why not test the theory by giving people the choice?

Out of curiosity (not in any way trying to pry or wind you up) why do you hate the BBC? Is it because you have to pay for it or does it go beyond that?

 

[remember arthur mann]

Out of curiosity (not in any way trying to pry or wind you up) why do you hate the BBC? Is it because you have to pay for it or does it go beyond that?

Nah, just a rwnj !

 

[GortonBlue62]

Out of curiosity (not in any way trying to pry or wind you up) why do you hate the BBC? Is it because you have to pay for it or does it go beyond that?

Nah, just a rwnj !

Had to look this up. Very funny. FYI I'm not a RWNJ.

Such an easy thing to do to characterise someone who disagrees with the BBC's extreme left wing bias as a nutter.

So lazy to stereotype someone who doesn't think the state is the answer to every problem as a right winger and end the debate there.

All a bit irrelevant to this debate.

 

[GortonBlue62]

Out of curiosity (not in any way trying to pry or wind you up) why do you hate the BBC? Is it because you have to pay for it or does it go beyond that?

Hate's probably too strong a word for it. I dislike it's political bias.

The idea that the BBC is neutral is laughable to any one that isn't a Guardian reading socialist.

Back on topic, the licence fee is a regressive tax which disproportionally penalises the poor and yes I do resent having my pocket picked every January to the tune of £145.50.

 

[hawkhurst]

Hate's probably too strong a word for it. I dislike it's political bias.

The idea that the BBC is neutral is laughable to any one that isn't a Guardian reading socialist.

Back on topic, the licence fee is a regressive tax which disproportionally penalises the poor and yes I do resent having my pocket picked every January to the tune of £145.50.

I think that if you're of one persuasion it's easy to accuse the BBC of being of the other. I know people on the left would accuse the BBC of being on the right over certain issues too (Nick Robinson and Andrew Neil being a former members of the Tories for example). I think it does a good job of being as impartial as it can and I'd much rather watch BBC news than Sky news which, if like his newspapers, will be under pressure from Murdoch to push his agenda.

 

[GortonBlue62]

I think that if you're of one persuasion it's easy to accuse the BBC of being of the other. I know people on the left would accuse the BBC of being on the right over certain issues too (Nick Robinson and Andrew Neil being a former members of the Tories for example). I think it does a good job of being as impartial as it can and I'd much rather watch BBC news than Sky news which, if like his newspapers, will be under pressure from Murdoch to push his agenda.

The bottom line is that I'm being forced to pay for something I don't want in order to watch television.
The technology exists to just let me receive the free view channels and not the BBC.
There's a generation coming up that won't pay for content and they will see off this regressive, anachronistic tax.