ITV why do people think its free?

[lovejoy]

The BBC is the best value you can get It costs about the price of a pint of beer per week.

Compare that with the cost of buying your groceries from say Sainsburyburys supermarket, can anyone seriously believe that the millions that they spend on TV advertising isn't passed on to the shopper?

[GEEMAC]

Quite agree with you lovejoy. And compare it to the price of even the most basic sattelite/cable package. Plus you get all those radio stations and their website. And no ads! It's a unique Great British institution and we should be proud of it. And no, I don't work for them.

[GEEMAC]

That's a shame I.A.P. It does seem very unfair if you have to pay the full price for a sub-standard service. But you can catch up on anything you want to watch on their website. And no, I still don't work for them.

[Everhelpful]

Agree with what you say,lovejoy,but still an awful lot of Licence-Payers money wasted. For instance (Why have 4 people at Football Matches telling you what you've just watched.2 would do.)

[BenDToy]

Three comments;
1) At least you can choose whether or not to buy from companies who advertise and therefore you don't pay for the ones you don't buy from. You pay for the BBC even if you don't choose to use it.

2) I have some sympathy with the quality broadcasting argument, but why should we pay a licence fee for the BBC to try to compete with commercial broadcasters in the field of downmarket and commercial type TV and radio, and overpaid presenters. There are plenty of commercial channels who do that as well or better than the Beeb,

[BenDToy]

...or maybe only two!!

[pug100]

In response to BenDToy
If you only buy products that don't advertise how do you know what to buy. Advertising covers all areas of the media not just tv, posters magazines internet radio even signs in the supermarkets and the shops you visit too. The layout of most shops are designed to draw you in and spend your cash wether you are aware of it or not. There is a whole science to do with getting you to spend your pennies on a particular product by where it is placed on a shelf. Look to see where the most popular stuff is next time you are in Tescos for example.

BBC is responsible for bringing world class tv progs to the screen, drama, wildlife news and docos. These are sold all over the world because they are top quality and are made with care and commitment to public service broadcasting. They are free of the contraints of political pressure ( the govt wether Conservative or Labour hates this ) and commmercial pressure (advertisers would love to get product placement of a prestigious tv prog on the BEEB) .
Not to forget all the technical innovations that the people at Kingswood Warren have created over the years. First digital tape recorder as well as innovations in 3D and blue screen technology. Many of which we all take for granted now but were really cuting edge when first came out. This is where some of our licence fee goes. Just a few things for you to think about there.

[Ethel]

Even non-brand groceries from your teeny corner shop that doesn't advertise are made by companies that do.