Licensing for UK Television

[andy]

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[modge]

Originally Posted by Radfordman

I'm an expert on this matter, well I should be as I have received many threatening and bullying letters from the company that harrases innocent people for the bbc (note usage of small letters) I no respect for the bbc or their enforcement company.

They assume that everyone has and uses a TV therefore owes them money for a license. This is an incorrect assumption.

I do not have a TV or other TV receiving equipment at the address that receives this assault. I have told the company so many times. In fact the address in question is not occupied at present and I don't want to tell them that as I trust them not at all.

Here is one letter from them, quite mild, but others have been much worse. An older person may be really worried about receiving such threats. If I find one of the more threatening letters, may post it later. Even if I don't, one can be sure that more will follow.

Iv several letters like that. At first I rang them up and said I haven't got a telly. It never stopped them, so then I rang up and told them stick your letters up your ASS. Funny thing Iv never had any phone calls or letters since.

[Radfordman]

Originally Posted by modge

Iv several letters like that. At first I rang them up and said I haven't got a telly. It never stopped them, so then I rang up and told them stick your letters up your ASS. Funny thing Iv never had any phone calls or letters since.

Well Done!

Correction, Very well done!!!

[roundscreen]

Do the TV collectors in the uk have to pay 20 dollars per month for each set they own? If there collections are as large as the ones we have here, That could run into a lot of money.

[Sandy G]

Yeah, but, Modge, I'm sure your name is on a list of "Dangerous Subversives" somewhere...Of course, w/over 100 guns & a fully automatic weapon licensed to me, I'm sure I'm on a list or 3 as well...Ask me if I care...If I DID care, would I be blabbing about it here, on a public online forum ?

[roundscreen]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

Yeah, but, Modge, I'm sure your name is on a list of "Dangerous Subversives" somewhere...Of course, w/over 100 guns & a fully automatic weapon licensed to me, I'm sure I'm on a list or 3 as well...Ask me if I care...If I DID care, would I be blabbing about it here, on a public online forum ?

[Fitzy]

Originally Posted by roundscreen

Do the TV collectors in the uk have to pay 20 dollars per month for each set they own? If there collections are as large as the ones we have here, That could run into a lot of money.

No just one license per address covering all TV receivers. The fee only goes to the BBC all other stations are self funding through advertising etc. The enforcement inspectors have right of entry and are a bunch of Nazis!!

[Radfordman]

Originally Posted by roundscreen

Do the TV collectors in the uk have to pay 20 dollars per month for each set they own? If there collections are as large as the ones we have here, That could run into a lot of money.

Not quite sure what the question is (my age you know), but in the UK only one license is needed for each private residence, one can have as many TV's as one likes at that residence and only one license is needed.

If a house was converted into two apartments two different owners, a licence would be needed in both apartments if they had TV's.

One good thing, very old people get a license free, my mother does.

[modge]

I'm a law abiding bloke, I was brought up that way, but as I get older I see things that are just making people so angry about stupid things that you can,cannot and should do that you need to drew a line some were.If the BBC are so concerned about people not paying there licence, why don't they spend a few more of the millions that they have on catching illegal broadcasting. Anyway from what I listened to on my tuner a few years ago the BBC are finished. Its going to be franchised my an American company. Its sighed and sealed. So be bit.

[Radfordman]

Originally Posted by modge

I'm a law abiding bloke, I was brought up that way, but as I get older I see things that are just making people so angry about stupid things that you can,cannot and should do that you need to drew a line some were.If the BBC are so concerned about people not paying there licence, why don't they spend a few more of the millions that they have on catching illegal broadcasting. Anyway from what I listened to on my tuner a few years ago the BBC are finished. Its going to be franchised my an American company. Its sighed and sealed. So be bit.

Agreed

[ceebee23]

The BBC rates its head off in the UK... which is why the private media snipe and demand that it be limited to protect "competition".

Governments of both flavours in the UK would dearly love to end the licence fee system which gives the BBC a degree of independence.

Here in Australia the ABC (modelled on the BBC) used to receive a licence fee but in the 70s that was abandoned and now is just given a budget by the government like any other government department.

Over the past decade the ABC has been deliberately starved of funds to punish it for being seen too critical of the government and also to prevent is competing with the private media.

Neither the US model and the British model are perfect but looking at the product of the two systems ..I think i will take the Brit model.

[nasadowsk]

Originally Posted by andy

I hear your concern, but it doesn't seem to be a problem in practice. They are frequently very critical of their own government.

They regular tow the government line about various topics - they were recently caught by someone towing the government line on speed cameras.

Then again, don't get the UK - one popular new website online refers to them as 'the nanny state', and frankly, the stories you hear, it fits...

The other difference - if you proposed a TV tax to prop up PBS in the US, there'd be mass outrage. Then again, PBS sucks, always has, always will...

[readmm50]

The BBC is not perfect but it does provide a wide range and of output and some of it is of a very high quality. For anyone who doesn’t know it provides eight national TV stations, special services for Scotland, Ireland and Wales, regional TV news and current affairs services in England, 8 national radio networks, 40 local radio stations, a large and highly rated website + on demand access in the UK to most of it’s radio and TV output over the previous 7 days via the internet and cable TV. All of this is commercial free but costs around 57 US cents a day for each household (not per person).

If you use any of these services on a regular basis – and most people in the UK consumer a lot of BBC news and entertainment output, I reckon it is terrific value.

The American system also produces some great stuff. I reckon we probably see some of the best of it over here. Having watched TV in the US it seems to me that you pay a higher price to see good programming. You either have to pay for premium channels or watch endless repeats of often mindless commercials. I thought the UK’s commercial networks were bad enough! PBS has some good stuff but the appeals for donations and sponsorship messages get in the way. I think that US citizens should get some kind of international endurance award for being able to see and hear the same message over and over again without turning off.

Neither the American or the British system is truly independent from the government. The good thing about the BBC is that it doesn’t have so many of the commercial pressures that the US networks have to cope with so it can say things and try things that the US networks don’t. Whatever you think of the BBC’s bias, it gives everyone access to intelligent information and some quality programming. I reckon anyone who can’t find some good stuff on the BBC hasn’t looked very hard.

By-the-way, as you may know, outside the UK the BBC also provides commercially funded international news and entertainment TV channels and non commercial overseas radio services in many languages (the radio services are funded directly by the government).

I am a great fan of American TV, radio and technology. I just think we get a better deal in the UK. I only hope the BBC can hold it together in an increasingly competitive market. Most UK citizens will miss it if it disappears. It’s a tough task to try and justify a license fee system if a lot of the population stop using the BBC’s services.

I am not sure why some people find it so outrageous that the BBC is paid for by a tax on each household. British and American citizens all pay taxes for services they may never use such as the state education system or even libraries. I guess it depends on your view on keeping people informed, educated and sometimes entertained.

[colorfixer]

What a wonderful scheme to allow some wannabe cop's entry to poke around your house. Use the "inspect your tv" excuse to scope out what you're up to.

LOL. That would never fly in the US.

Why don't they just make the freeview boxes that the british government rammed down everyone's throats conditional access, then they'd enforce "licensing" by enabling the boxes.

Come to think about it, it could have happened here.

[modge]

Originally Posted by andy

I hear your concern, but it doesn't seem to be a problem in practice. They are frequently very critical of their own government. Between the BBC news, the commercial networks, satellite, and the papers, not much is kept secret. If anything, the BBC news is far more objective and substantive than the infotainment that passes for TV news here in the US. The UK's newspapers tend to me more like the US news channels though.

I don't know the details of how the funding works, but if anything like you suggest was happening, it would be BIG news, and the BBC would be murdered by the other news outlets. The US isn't the only country with free speech!

The BBC is not critical of the government is cant be. This is not a political rant but the TRUTH. Margaret Thatcher made it illegal to broadcast what any politician had said on the broadcasting network in the past. Why, because her government at the time were lying about what certain politicians had said, also some of them were denying what they had said until it was broadcast and they were then in the mire. So much for freedom of speech.
It would probably be the same everywhere but here there is the official secrets act which the BBC, ITV has to follow. I know of certain (and many other local people do) things that went on here that wasn't broadcast because of the government's intervention e.g. the miners strike.
Like I said earlier the BBCs days are numbered.