TV Licence

[redjambo]

4 hours ago, Smithee said:

I'll need to look it up then, I'm not sure where I've read that 👍

 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202100213156/

[Unknown user]

1 hour ago, redjambo said:

 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202100213156/

Cheers 👍 

 

Makes you wonder what those half dozen people were doing!

[The Future's Maroon]

This just came up in a recent conversation with a work colleague…

 

As some will know on here I lost my fiancée to cancer in July last year, she dealt with all bills etc (I just transferred money)….I didn’t even think about tv license when sorting shit out…haven’t since until coming across this thread!

[Jambo-Jimbo]

23 hours ago, Smithee said:

As far as I know, no one in Scotland's been convicted over their TV license.

 

I was, mind that was 20+ years ago and the rest. 

They made an example of me, I hadn't renewed my licence simply because I couldn't afford to, and within 6 months the BBC had taken me to court, was fined £40 and ordered to pay the back money, which I had already done before it went to court, hence why I only got a £40 fine otherwise it would have been in the hundreds.

Why do I think the BBC made an example of me, well I was a first offender, it was the first time I had skipped renewing the licence and despite me buying a new licence and paying back the back money they still took it to court, seemed to me that the BBC wanted to make an example of someone and I happened to be next in the line.

 

 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

I was reading today that the family of Claudia Lawrence are being harrased over her unpaid TV licence, she's only been missing 14 years.

 

[Maroon Sailor]

3 hours ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

I was reading today that the family of Claudia Lawrence are being harrased over her unpaid TV licence, she's only been missing 14 years.

 

 

Kinell !

[Pans Jambo]

On 14/03/2023 at 17:16, FWJ said:

I wonder if there’s much overlap between people who don’t pay their TV licence and those who park on private property and don’t pay the (civil) fine.

Or flag waving Daily Mail readers…

[Greedy Jambo]

I've not paid for a TV license in 5 years, i don't understand why people would anymore, your money goes straight to the tories as well by the way. 

[milky_26]

On 14/03/2023 at 11:36, Pans Jambo said:

If you willingly pay the BBC licence...yer a mug!

 

On 14/03/2023 at 17:16, FWJ said:

I wonder if there’s much overlap between people who don’t pay their TV licence and those who park on private property and don’t pay the (civil) fine.

 

15 minutes ago, Pans Jambo said:

Or flag waving Daily Mail readers…

i didnt have you down as a flag waving daily mail reader

[That thing you do]

TV License is a stupid idea that every other country cant believe exists.

 

Then said funded BBC programming has no impartiality.

 

Get the license and the Beeb away. BBC optional fine, but not funded by taxpayers.

[FWJ]

9 hours ago, That thing you do said:

TV License is a stupid idea that every other country cant believe exists.

 

Then said funded BBC programming has no impartiality.

 

Get the license and the Beeb away. BBC optional fine, but not funded by taxpayers.

Except all those that have one, presumably - like Ireland, Germany (where everyone pays, regardless of whether they actually own a tv or radio), Poland, Switzerland …..

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence

 

Of course the Tories want to abolish the licence fee - they think the BBC is full of pinko, Guardian-reading, Islington liberals and would much rather see our airwaves cluttered with race-to-the-bottom GB News style s**t.

 

(Also, please don’t confuse the parochial crap coming out of Pacific Quay with the BBC in general)

[That thing you do]

5 hours ago, FWJ said:

Except all those that have one, presumably - like Ireland, Germany (where everyone pays, regardless of whether they actually own a tv or radio), Poland, Switzerland …..

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence

 

Of course the Tories want to abolish the licence fee - they think the BBC is full of pinko, Guardian-reading, Islington liberals and would much rather see our airwaves cluttered with race-to-the-bottom GB News style s**t.

 

(Also, please don’t confuse the parochial crap coming out of Pacific Quay with the BBC in general)

I lived in Berlin for 3 years. And at no point was I asked to buy a TV License. Wikipedia is mixing a tax on TV and a license to view. 

 

There are taxes around TV in Germany but not to fund the state broadcaster. Its a general tax.

[FWJ]

https://handbookgermany.de/en/licence-fee-for-public-broadcasting

 

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer/phone_internet_tv_and_postal_services/tv_licences.html

 

https://www.serafe.ch/en

Edited March 16, 2023 by FWJ

[Lone Striker]

Do the Tories actually want to abolish the TV licence funding for the BBC ? Or is this a deliberate deception game  being played by  Tory-haters ?  

 

The Tories love-affair with free-market enterprise  might suggest they'd consider it - but If it came to pass, there's limited options the BBC would have to make up the shortfall.     As part of the legislation to do away with TV licences, the govt of the day would have to allow the BBC to raise revenue through advertising, wouldn't they  ?   That would annoy the  existing commercial TV companies who wouldn't want a big new player in the TV advertising space.

 

Or sell new shares in the BBC  on the  investment market (i.e. privatisation) - which would require  a whole new set of ownership restrictions to prevent Russian oligarchs and mega-rich tycoons like Musk or Murdoch from buying them up.  

 

Either of these scenarios seem likely to infuriate a big section of society who see the value in having a TV company which is different from the rest.   Big risk for  whichever party goes ahead with a privatisation of something which still commands respect and affection from a big chunk of voters. 

 

imo, the Tories are probably content to just poke it with a stick every now and again - having planted a couple of sympathisers in charge of it.

 

 

[FWJ]

I honestly don’t think this new (well, post-Thatcher anyway) Tories care about national institutions, things that bind the country together.  It’s all about money and devil take the hindmost.

Someone like Murdoch owning the “BBC” would suit them - and their ethos & plans - down to the ground.

 

If the BBC went down the adverts route companies would either split their budgets between ITV & BBC - less money for both, lower budgets = poorer quality or else double their advertising budget and pass those costs onto the consumer.

Advertising isn’t free, companies already pay billions to ITV.

[Lone Striker]

5 minutes ago, FWJ said:

I honestly don’t think this new (well, post-Thatcher anyway) Tories care about national institutions, things that bind the country together.  It’s all about money and devil take the hindmost.

Someone like Murdoch owning the “BBC” would suit them - and their ethos & plans - down to the ground.

 

If the BBC went down the adverts route companies would either split their budgets between ITV & BBC - less money for both, lower budgets = poorer quality or else double their advertising budget and pass those costs onto the consumer.

Advertising isn’t free, companies already pay billions to ITV.

Surely they'd care if polling showed that having a manifesto commitment to privatise the BBC had very little support and was potentially a vote loser ?

 

Having said that, a poll which asked the simple question "Would you vote Conservative if they promised to scrap the TV licence ?"   might actually show positive approval - since there's enough brain-dead dafties in the electorate who don't think about consequences.   If it means they save £150 a year, whats not to like ?

 

 

I read something a year or 2 ago by some senior marketting chap that highlighted the concept of diminishing returns on advertising in certain economic conditions, such as long-term belt-tightening.   Sectors within the economy producing stuff which could be seen as non-essential or nice-to-have cut back their spend due to it having less effect, whereas down-market cheap stuff tends to be more heavily advertised by competing supermarkets & stores.  I remember thinking that it made sense on one level but was a  bit counter-intuitive on another - why would you spend money advertising that your baked beans were now reduced by 5p ?

 

[Greedy Jambo]

I'm not sure of the exact details, but it has been claimed that someone high up at the BBC funded Boris Johnston's leadership campaign, or something along those lines. 

[Costanza]

It's a bargain quite frankly. Hating on the BBC because you don't like it's news output is bonkers given how much else there is.

For me 6Music, Cbeebies, iplayer, bbc Sounds, the website, loads of great dramas, no adverts; are easily worth the cost.

Maybe the funding model needs looked at, but fundamentally if the BBC was to disappear you're looking at a culture of ITV, Capital Radio and streaming sites, whilst paying loads more than the BBC costs you.

Not for me Clive.

 

 

[Greedy Jambo]

43 minutes ago, Costanza said:

It's a bargain quite frankly. Hating on the BBC because you don't like it's news output is bonkers given how much else there is.

For me 6Music, Cbeebies, iplayer, bbc Sounds, the website, loads of great dramas, no adverts; are easily worth the cost.

Maybe the funding model needs looked at, but fundamentally if the BBC was to disappear you're looking at a culture of ITV, Capital Radio and streaming sites, whilst paying loads more than the BBC costs you.

Not for me Clive.

 

 

 

Aye, but you can get all that sort of stuff without a licence elsewhere, and i'm not talking illegally. 

The fact that you need a LICENCE to stick something on your tv to keep your kids occupied is frankly disgusting. 

[Costanza]

Just now, Greedy Jambo said:

 

Aye, but you can get all that sort of stuff without a licence elsewhere, and i'm not talking illegally. 

The fact that you need a LICENCE to stick something on your tv to keep your kids occupied is frankly disgusting. 

 

[Greedy Jambo]

1 minute ago, Costanza said:

 

 

It's also disgusting

 

 

 

[Shooter McGavin]

50 minutes ago, Costanza said:

It's a bargain quite frankly. Hating on the BBC because you don't like it's news output is bonkers given how much else there is.

For me 6Music, Cbeebies, iplayer, bbc Sounds, the website, loads of great dramas, no adverts; are easily worth the cost.

Maybe the funding model needs looked at, but fundamentally if the BBC was to disappear you're looking at a culture of ITV, Capital Radio and streaming sites, whilst paying loads more than the BBC costs you.

Not for me Clive.

 

 

Whilst I agree to an extent, I don’t think the younger generations hold the BBC in such high regard as perhaps the older generations.

 

Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Spotify, YouTube, Apple TV, Sky etc are just the cooler, and infinitely better alternatives to the BBC services you’ve mentioned.

 

The BBC is clunky, outdated and they don’t do anything better than any of the aforementioned services, is the point I’m essentially trying to put across.

[FWJ]

1 hour ago, Costanza said:

It's a bargain quite frankly. Hating on the BBC because you don't like it's news output is bonkers given how much else there is.

For me 6Music, Cbeebies, iplayer, bbc Sounds, the website, loads of great dramas, no adverts; are easily worth the cost.

Maybe the funding model needs looked at, but fundamentally if the BBC was to disappear you're looking at a culture of ITV, Capital Radio and streaming sites, whilst paying loads more than the BBC costs you.

Not for me Clive.

 

 

This.

[Dawnrazor]

14 minutes ago, Shooter McGavin said:

Whilst I agree to an extent, I don’t think the younger generations hold the BBC in such high regard as perhaps the older generations.

 

Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Spotify, YouTube, Apple TV, Sky etc are just the cooler, and infinitely better alternatives to the BBC services you’ve mentioned.

 

The BBC is clunky, outdated and they don’t do anything better than any of the aforementioned services, is the point I’m essentially trying to put across.

I'd agree with that, I honestly doubt my son would notice if we didn't have BBC, neither me or my wife watch much on it and it wouldn't be missed by us really if we didn't have it, and if we don't use it why should we pay for it? Netflix or Now or Prime don't charge us when we don't subscribe.

[Costanza]

8 minutes ago, Shooter McGavin said:

Whilst I agree to an extent, I don’t think the younger generations hold the BBC in such high regard as perhaps the older generations.

 

Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Spotify, YouTube, Apple TV, Sky etc are just the cooler, and infinitely better alternatives to the BBC services you’ve mentioned.

 

The BBC is clunky, outdated and they don’t do anything better than any of the aforementioned services, is the point I’m essentially trying to put across.

Is that a backhanded way of calling me an old fart 

(guilty btw)

I pay for most of those sites but if you added them up it's about 60-70 quid a month.

The licence fee per month is cheaper than just having Apple TV and Spotify and that's mental when you think about it.

I suppose the bee in my bonnet is Radio and Spotify is nowhere as useful for new music than BBC Radio IMO. Spotify push algorithms and rip off musicians whereas, artists thrive off exposure on a service that pushes less commercial and more niche stuff and without BBC Radio a whole ecosystem would be damaged I would argue.

Also, I just can't abide radio with adverts, does my head in.

You are correct in terms of it's clunkiness but I genuinely think culture in this country goes backwards massively if we lose the BBC.

Maybe it should just come off general taxation through a wealth tax on billionaires, especially media moguls. There, sorted.

[Shooter McGavin]

9 minutes ago, Costanza said:

Is that a backhanded way of calling me an old fart 

(guilty btw)

I pay for most of those sites but if you added them up it's about 60-70 quid a month.

The licence fee per month is cheaper than just having Apple TV and Spotify and that's mental when you think about it.

I suppose the bee in my bonnet is Radio and Spotify is nowhere as useful for new music than BBC Radio IMO. Spotify push algorithms and rip off musicians whereas, artists thrive off exposure on a service that pushes less commercial and more niche stuff and without BBC Radio a whole ecosystem would be damaged I would argue.

Also, I just can't abide radio with adverts, does my head in.

You are correct in terms of it's clunkiness but I genuinely think culture in this country goes backwards massively if we lose the BBC.

Maybe it should just come off general taxation through a wealth tax on billionaires, especially media moguls. There, sorted.

No not at all 😅, and apologies if it came across that way!

 

I do concede that the cost of the TV licence, compared to if you had Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime etc, is a huge factor.

 

I’d agree with your points on the radio. When I’m driving, 99% of the time I will be playing a Spotify playlist or podcast in my car. Totally fed up of radio where you’ll get 1 song for every 10 minutes of adverts and crap banter from the insufferable hosts.

 

I think they should just introduce ads to be honest, and scrap the TV license altogether. Facebook basically fund their entire operation through ads, and whilst it’s nowhere near the same size of audience, I can only imagine how much money they could make if they decided to go down that route.

[Doctor FinnBarr]

Wife pays the BBC, told her not too but she does, feckin livid.+

 

Mind when the BBC used to boast about having no adverts but every between shows were adverts for BBC Radio and other BBC channels?

[Greedy Jambo]

I think we can all agree that's it's an old farts thing and it will be long gone in 10 years time.

Feel free to pay for the next 10 years by the way, I'm not stopping you 🤣

[jack D and coke]

4 hours ago, Greedy Jambo said:

I'm not sure of the exact details, but it has been claimed that someone high up at the BBC funded Boris Johnston's leadership campaign, or something along those lines. 

Got him an 800k loan after getting the job  

Ive always paid it but honestly I barely watch tv at all anymore. I might feck them off. 

[BlueRiver]

Always torn on it if I'm honest. 

 

I do think it provides a valuable public service despite the occasional flare up like the recent Lineker stuff. 

 

But I also don't think it's right in 2023 (and hasn't been right for some time) that people are compelled by law to fund it either. Agree as well with Shooter that people probably below 35/40 just don't have that attachment older folk do to it and likely don't utilise it to the same extent. 

 

Picking splinters out my backside amount of time I've sat on the fence over the BBC. Overall I think the funding model is more a relic of the past that could do with being reassessed. 

[jack D and coke]

9 minutes ago, BlueRiver said:

Always torn on it if I'm honest. 

 

I do think it provides a valuable public service despite the occasional flare up like the recent Lineker stuff. 

 

But I also don't think it's right in 2023 (and hasn't been right for some time) that people are compelled by law to fund it either. Agree as well with Shooter that people probably below 35/40 just don't have that attachment older folk do to it and likely don't utilise it to the same extent. 

 

Picking splinters out my backside amount of time I've sat on the fence over the BBC. Overall I think the funding model is more a relic of the past that could do with being reassessed. 

It can still produce some good stuff but it feels less and less.

In the days when utter filth like Murdoch can control the conversation and brainwash I’m a bit fearful of it becoming commercial and controlled by some scum ******* like him.
 
It really has felt like a Tory mouthpiece at times the last few years but I still value it a bit though. 
Im torn about it. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by jack D and coke