TV Licence

[gwendes]

You can also get equipment which receives the sound from BBC but no picture (my blind grandmother has one), and this doesn't require a licence!!

It does actually - the licence is half price.
BBC - About the BBC - Licence fee

No, it IS free. The 50% discount for blind people refers to the licence for a colour television; if the equipment receives sound but cannot display pictures, it is free - see http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/index.jsp

Fair enough - I assumed that that the same rules would apply. Seems crazy to pay for a service, even half price, that you CAN'T see!

[Pottsey]

“If you can't afford £10 a month then I would recommend cutting down on drinking/smoking/etc, cycle instead of driving and cooking your food from scratch just to start with”
It’s not that easy. Sure it might only be £10 but we all have lots of things that are only £10 and they all add up. I don’t drink, don’t smoke and I cook my own food as well so it’s not possible to cut back more. I don’t watch BBC or listen to BBC or use there website or anything else so why should I be forced to have a licence to pay for BBC?

The only BBC stuff I watch are the old shows I bought on DVD. But as far as I am concerned I paid for those when I bought the DVD. Why should I have to pay twice?

[enjay]

Fair enough - I assumed that that the same rules would apply. Seems crazy to pay for a service, even half price, that you CAN'T see!

Yeah, it seems almost as crazy as having to pay full price for a service you don't use :-)

Seriously though, being registered blind doesn't necessarily mean you have no sight at all, it also applies to people with severe visual impairment but some sight.

Also, I guess it would cover the use in a house where one person was blind, but other householders weren't?

[gwendes]

The only BBC stuff I watch are the old shows I bought on DVD. But as far as I am concerned I paid for those when I bought the DVD. Why should I have to pay twice?

To fund the production of the programme. Then to pay for the DVD?

Do you expect DVDs to be given away for free?

Was this a real question?

[Pottsey]

“To fund the production of the programme. Then to pay for the DVD?
Do you expect DVDs to be given away for free?”
If the DVD was sold for free or at cost then perhaps the BBC licence would be worth it for me. But the point is the DVD is full price. I am paying for the production of the programme with the full cost DVD then a 2nd time with the BBC licence even though I don’t watch BBC channels. I shouldn’t have to pay for a licence when I don’t watch BBC channels

Effectively I am paying for the production costs twice.

[gwendes]

Sold for free???

If you don't like it then don't buy it?

You obviously enjoy watching these programmes - why do you resent paying towards funding future programmes and technology.

Fifty years ago it wasn't possible for you to watch the programme you wanted to watch when you wanted to watch it.. now we have VoD just around the corner.. in part funded by your DVD purchases.

Not only have you supported a worthy institution, you have DVDs of it's employees work to watch whenever you want. I'm thankful...

[CHR1S]

All of this is insignificant, Top Gear clearly deserves the fee in it self! Hell even if you dont watch it you should feel safe in the knowledge that your making me a happy man

But seriously, it is outdated and needs revamping but its still a small bit of British pride left right?

[gwendes]

Out the current programming I would agree - Top Gear is awesome and justifies doubling the fee... add Q.I. and I'm also a happy man

[Joedetic]

This is all coming down to the point of "boycotting the BBC." There was a big debate at LugRadio Live at the weekend about how to get the BBC to re-assess the use of DRM on the iPlayer and also to do with making it available on other platforms than just Windows XP and the rights of the license payers to have un-restricted access to the media they are providing in return for the license fee for people on all operating systems. It came down to a discussion from the Open Rights Group rep (i think that's who it was) about whether or not us, as linux users, should be boycotting the BBC and how that could even be remotely pheasable.

She said it was a daft idea and tbh i dont think that a minority such as linux users are going to manage to persuade the BBC.

[SpuffMonkey]

I, for one, think the fee is good value considering the weatlth of wonderful television the BBC has produced and will produce in the future. I imagine a lot of us would be very different people without it.

Seconded! I hate the thought of all the media in this country run by Murdoch and his like - its worth a few quid to stop that happening.

[gwendes]

Seconded! I hate the thought of all the media in this country run by Murdoch and his like - its worth a few quid to stop that happening.

You've touched on a good point. What happens to TV when it is produced just for profit? I'll tell you what happens.

Pop Idol and Big Brother.

BBC retains a certain, quality. If only they'd make something interesting happen with Dancing On Ice (Dancing On Fire springs to ming) I don't want the BBC to compete with commercial channels - I want it to continue doing what it has been allowed to do for years...

The Young Ones
Red Dwarf
Men Behaving Badly...

They've done it recently enough with The Office - I can't wait for the next...

[mrforgetful]

The people arguing for the license are missing the point and I've said it many times if you just read my previous posts!

CHOICE.

If you think it's worth it then fine! I'm not saying it should be free, that's no the only option. What I'm saying is it shouldn't be law that everyone have to pay and so far noone has given a valid reason for that.

You keep reusing the same opinions of enjoying the programs etc, and I keep saying that's good but why does everyone HAVE to pay? If YOU like it YOU pay, why do I have to?

[Pottsey]

“Sold for free???
If you don't like it then don't buy it?
You obviously enjoy watching these programmes - why do you resent paying towards funding future programmes and technology.”
I resent the fact I am being forced to pay twice and paying for funding for future programmes and technology they chance’s are I wont use or watch. It’s the fact there’s no choice over the matter that I resent.

Very little has come out of the BBC in the past decade that I want to watch or tech I want to use. Still if I buy a DVD and profit go towards new future programmes and technology that fine. It’s the licence on top of paying full price I don’t like.

If your paying a licence it makes more sense that DVD’s should be at cost not full price. There is no good reason to force us to pay a license.

I would be happy if I had an option to buy DVD’s watch the BBC stuff I want and not have a licence or BBC channels I don’t use.





“Fifty years ago it wasn't possible for you to watch the programme you wanted to watch when you wanted to watch it..”
Being able to watch what I went when I want wasn’t something BBC introduced.

[SpuffMonkey]

The people arguing for the license are missing the point and I've said it many times if you just read my previous posts!

CHOICE.

If you think it's worth it then fine! I'm not saying it should be free, that's no the only option. What I'm saying is it shouldn't be law that everyone have to pay and so far noone has given a valid reason for that.

You keep reusing the same opinions of enjoying the programs etc, and I keep saying that's good but why does everyone HAVE to pay? If YOU like it YOU pay, why do I have to?

Well - its a choice between collectivism and individualism innit...

Whether you think that everyone should club together to buy something that benefits the whole community or not. NHS is the prime example - nobody wants to pay for this before they are going to use it - but most of us are glad its there when we need it.

I don't "like" paying the license fee - but I do like getting Radio 4 or watching BBC4 - neither of which would exist in a commercial only media world, and are the kicking off board for lots of the most popular shows on TV that would never have been made by a commercial company.

I've no doubt that the Beeb will be destroyed in the not too distant future as we seem in this country to have an overwhelming desire to destroy anything that works well and replace it with a load of cr@p. :?

[enjay]

The only BBC stuff I watch are the old shows I bought on DVD. But as far as I am concerned I paid for those when I bought the DVD. Why should I have to pay twice?

To fund the production of the programme. Then to pay for the DVD?

Do you expect DVDs to be given away for free?

Was this a real question?

It seemed like a reasonable question to me. With a Hollywood film, for example, some of the ticket price of the DVD goes to fund the production of the film. But with a BBC box set, you seem to pay twice - once with the licence fee and then again with the DVD.