tv licence

[berniecuddles]

why cant we have pay to view bought in for the bbc instead of being ripped off all the time. i very very rarely watch bbc but have to pay for a licence, isn't it time we got a choice pay if you want it!

[lady_p_gold]

You say you very rarely watch it ... which means you do watch it sometimes ... I spend a lot of time in America and if we end up like that god help us. I think its worth every penny.

[Lou Knee]

we dont watch BBC much either, but i am sure it would help out if those who watch or listen from abroad chipped in a bit it would help

[randomer]

Well soon you should be able to watch tv on the internet instead. You may have seen all of the trials that are going on. Two Pints of lager and Ideal on BBC Three's website are all being shown. The IT Crowd showed one episode on C4's website. Plus clips are constantly being shown on the internet. I think that one episode of The Armstrongs on BBC2 was shown and The apprentice as well. So there you go. Soon you may well be able to watch on the internet instead. And there was also BBC's Internet Media Player which they did a trial of for 5000 people to download the software so that they could watch any program at any time for up to 7 days after it had aired. Yet I suspect that unless you do away with your TV completely then some form of tv license will remain.

[Buenchico]

(Posted in 2 parts):
All of the research shows that pay-per-view would work out far more expensive in the long run and deprive the BBC of the guaranteed income which allows it to produce quality programming (both independently and in association with other broadcasters).

Although I'm not a football fan, the price of pay-per-view football matches gives a reasonable comparison. Setanta Sports broadcast Scottish Premier League matches via Freeview. They charge either �8 or �10 per game. So, for the current price of a colour TV licence, I could (theoretically) either choose to watch about 15 Scottish football matches or I could watch a full year's football coverage from the BBC. This includes both premiership matches and international coverage so, even by only considering football, the TV licence fee doesn't seem so bad.

Of course, these matches would be on BBC1 which also transmits comedy, drama, children's programmes, wildlife documentaries, travel features, etc. So now the licence fee seems to be even more of a bargain.

But, as well as BBC1, my licence fee also pays for all of these:
BBC2
BBC3
BBC4
CBBC
CBeebies
BBC News 24
BBC Parliament
Radio 1
1Xtra
Radio 2
Radio 3
Radio 4
Radio 5 Live
5 Live Sports Extra
BBC 6 Music
BBC7
BBC Asian Network
Radio Scotland
Radio Wales
Radio Ulster
Over 50 BBC local and regional stations
and, finally, the biggest website in the world (with everything from consumer advice to hoilday information and recipes), bbc.co.uk

15 Scottish football matches or all that lot. Which is the better value?

[Buenchico]

Here's another way of looking at it:
For the equivalent of a year's information and entertainment from the BBC, you could buy:
a) dinner, with wine, for 4 people at a mid-priced restaurant.
b) dinner, with wine, for one person at a top class restaurant
c) tickets for 4 people to watch a Premiership football match
d) tickets for 3 people to watch a West End show
e) a ticket for one person for an opera at Covent Garden
f) a grandstand seat for 1 person to watch just one F1 Grand Prix event.

Stop moaning, Bernie. I'm not particularly proud of being British but if this country has got one jewel in its crown it has to be the BBC.

Chris

[SteveD]

Lou Knee, here in Belgium, we receive BBC1 & BBC2 via cable for which we pay a subscription. In turn, the cable company will pay the BBC for the right to provide the service. I can assure you we do "chip in a bit".

[berniecuddles]

buenchico wot planet you on? your being ripped off if you think the bbc is worth it,the amount of money the bbc waste is astronomical for instance sending over 250 people to do the coverage of the world cup what on earth for?any way perhaps i did not express my 1st question quite right!

i should have a choice wether or not to have a tv licence as i hardly watch the bbc and the rubbish they dish up on the telly sums it up, repeat after repeat!!

its typical of this great country of ours you stand up for what you believe and you get called a moaner and as for saying your not proud to be british you should be ashamed of yourself,

im happy to pay for pay for view as i will only probably watch 2-3 times a year so whats wrong with that!!

[Fat Boy]

Bernie - Buenchico argues a good point about the value of the TV licence. In fact I would say its the best argument I've ever heard for the TV licence - so good it almost had me convinced!

For me though, the issue around the TV licence is not one of value but one of choice. I agree, you do get a lot for your money (but to be fair, you also get an awful lot of sh!te), but the only reason the BBC can provide all the things Buenchico lists is because everybody is forced to pay for it, whether they want all (or any) of those things or not. If Sky TV for example, had all that money, they could do the same (actually, I would argue some things they would do even better) but if I want to watch Sky I have to pay the BBC first then pay Sky!

The fact of the matter is that if people who wanted the BBC package had to pay for it (like we have to with any cable or satellite package), there wouldn't enough subscribers to make it financially viable. It only works because people who don't want it still have to give them money for it. And that reason alone is why I disagree very strongly with the outdated concept of a licence to own a television set.