TV licence fee

Deucemoi

Deucemoi

Member
my bbc rss news feeds gave me a funny item...Being in the U.S. where tv broadcasting is free to all I never imagined one would have to buy a license to have a tv in ones home. I guess in england and other euro countries you do.
 

Well, here in the USA, some stations broadcast over the air and they are free, with regulated commercial time. But to get 14 cooking shows, 3-10 TV stores, and every 70s & 80s TV show; you have to shell out for cable, with unregulated commercial time. With cable, it's possible to watch episodes of "Friends", and "Columbo" 24/day.
The base price of cable TV is $1.50, with tax and fees at least $150.
 

" I guess in england and other euro countries you do."

In the UK (not just England!) the whole of the licence fee (which is a "Licence to install and Operate a Television Receiving Apparatus"!) goes to the public broadcaster, the BBC. That's how they maintain their independence, though various governments have threatened them over the years.

Their charter is due for renewal soon, and while it has its flaws, it's a model we would be foolish to give up.
 
Laurie said:
" I guess in england and other euro countries you do."

In the UK (not just England!) the whole of the licence fee (which is a "Licence to install and Operate a Television Receiving Apparatus"!) goes to the public broadcaster, the BBC. That's how they maintain their independence, though various governments have threatened them over the years.

Their charter is due for renewal soon, and while it has its flaws, it's a model we would be foolish to give up.
Click to expand...
Actually the license fee goes to the treasury who provide some cash for the BBC though the BBC also get a great deal of revenue by selling programme to other overseas broadcast corporations. Some of the license fee goes to subsidise the roll out of Broadband, and some to the buildout of enhanced transmission resources.

Today the BBC is unfit for purpose. It has become highly biased with a very pronounced political agenda. It should be shut down in its present form and replaced with a subscription service.

The BBC stinks.
 
Deucemoi said:
my bbc rss news feeds gave me a funny item...Being in the U.S. where tv broadcasting is free to all I never imagined one would have to buy a license to have a tv in ones home. I guess in england and other euro countries you do.
Click to expand...

Deucemoi, I think you got a message that should only
be seen in the UK.

The BBC put out that message for people who wanted
to use the BBC iPlayer on their PC, I got it, both on my
computer and on my smart TV. It only applies in the UK.

Mike.
 
How does that work in the UK? Does the BBC broadcast over the airwaves? Or is everybody connected to a "box"?
If it's over the air, why can't you smuggle in a TV set? Hey, I'm a criminal at heart, but mostly cheap.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
How does that work in the UK? Does the BBC broadcast over the airwaves? Or is everybody connected to a "box"?
If it's over the air, why can't you smuggle in a TV set? Hey, I'm a criminal at heart, but mostly cheap.
Click to expand...

BBC broadcasts both terrestrially and is available also via satellite.

Televisions are a bit big to smuggle. Even if you could find one that worked on British voltages (230v, 50Hz) the picture and sound standards are different.

Manatee said:
It is 30 years since I was last in Europe. How many channels do they get?
Click to expand...

Don't know about other countries but I think I get fifty or so.

Cable and satellite offer many more, maybe 100/150.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
How does that work in the UK? Does the BBC broadcast over the airwaves? Or is everybody connected to a "box"?
If it's over the air, why can't you smuggle in a TV set? Hey, I'm a criminal at heart, but mostly cheap.
Click to expand...
In the UK when you buy a TV by law you must give details of where you live before you can take delivery. That information is then sent to the licencing agency who chase you to buy a license. If you don't you WILL face a hefty fine.
 
wierd. here in the US tv's come in many different sizes, from hand held to wall mount. over the air before digital was free and you got the local stations(within 100 miles or so) and after digital you still only get a few stations in the local area....cable or satellite offers way more for a big fee. and you dont have to tell anyone you have a tv.....yes the signal is different and so is the power...yall does strange things in europe....
 
I don't think that different systems matter anymore
since digital TV came along.

My TV is set to 1080 X 720 P I think, anyway it is
the same as my PC monitor.

Mike.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Well, here in the USA, some stations broadcast over the air and they are free, with regulated commercial time. But to get 14 cooking shows, 3-10 TV stores, and every 70s & 80s TV show; you have to shell out for cable, with unregulated commercial time. With cable, it's possible to watch episodes of "Friends", and "Columbo" 24/day.
The base price of cable TV is $1.50, with tax and fees at least $150.
Click to expand...
Fuzzbuddy, welcome to the age of streaming. People are cutting their cable and using devices like the Amazon Firestick, latest edition of Roku and T.V. boxes (Apple T.V., Mi Box, OTT MXQ box) on which they add the free Kodi app. Kodi with it's add ons get thousands of shows and movies, new and old. Cost for the streaming devices can range from $40 to $100. The OTT box, which also has a browser feature, comes with Kodi and a few add ons, what you install to be able to watch programming, already installed. All a person needs besides the Kodi app is a WiFi connection. My husband is got me an OTT box for my birthday. Will be setting it up later today. I already have Kodi installed on my tablet and am very happy with it.
 
I don't have a TV anymore so I don't need a TV license.
The BBC portion of the License fee was justified by them with the argument that it funded quality independent original content.
That is no longer the case.
The BBC today is no different to any other TV company, repeats ,repeats and more repeats, followed by repeats of repeats of repeats , etc, etc, etc.
We may get an original quality product once or twice a year but not enough to justify the fee.
Anything I want to watch I can watch on computer, though not usually when it first comes out. I'm not really that desperate to watch TV anyway. I'm usually in my studio painting or playing my guitar/uke.
 
We have a modern version of rabbit ears which is a white square plastic thing about a foot square and that gets PBS and a few local channels. I can find all kinds of stuff to stream off of the internet. Cable TV is not worth what it costs.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Fuzzbuddy, welcome to the age of streaming. People are cutting their cable and using devices like the Amazon Firestick, latest edition of Roku and T.V. boxes (Apple T.V., Mi Box, OTT MXQ box) on which they add the free Kodi app. Kodi with it's add ons get thousands of shows and movies, new and old. Cost for the streaming devices can range from $40 to $100. The OTT box, which also has a browser feature, comes with Kodi and a few add ons, what you install to be able to watch programming, already installed. All a person needs besides the Kodi app is a WiFi connection. My husband is got me an OTT box for my birthday. Will be setting it up later today. I already have Kodi installed on my tablet and am very happy with it.
Click to expand...

Diva, is the Kodi thing compatible with Roku? Is it a box or an app?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top