TV License for home users!?! Yikes!

[homeskillet]

I don't know too much about television viewing in the United Kingdom, but the way I read this website you have to pay a fee just own a Television receiving devise and pay per year just for the privilege? Man, I'm glad I live in the USA where TV is still FREE!

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/index.jsp#link1

What do you guys think?

[TNGTony]

There is also a fee to own a radio. This has been in place for ever in England. By the same token you have the BBC providing commercial free content.

See ya
Tony

[SamC]

That is the British system.

It would be OK, if the BBC were responsive to the needs and desires of the public.

Of course, just like PBS in the USA, it takes the taxpayers' money and spews out market rejected programming.

[FTA Michael]

And where I grew up, they made me pay for a yearly license for my dog! And my state makes me buy licenses every year for each car I own! Heck, I've got to pay money every year just because I own a house!! ;)

Seriously, every society decides what services it wants its government to perform and how to pay for them. In Great Britain, they decided that true public funding of a public broadcast service was a good idea, and that the way to pay for it was a tax on receivers. In the US, we didn't. :shrug: To each his own.

Didja know they also drive on the wrong side of the street? http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_021b.html :)

[gbranch]

I knew that there was a TV license required in the UK, but had no idea it was so expensive. A colour license is 126.50 pounds, which is about $230 US. This fee is paid every year. I assume that one license is required per household, not one per TV or one per person.

I believe that they also have inspectors who are allowed to enter you home and check what type of TV you have, and if you have the appropriate license.

[cdru]

I assume that one license is required per household, not one per TV or one per person.Correct. It's also £40 for a black and white TV, what ever that is. :)

I believe that they also have inspectors who are allowed to enter you home and check what type of TV you have, and if you have the appropriate license.I don't know about entering the home, but they can fine you up to £1,000. According to here (http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/detectionandpenalties.jsp), they have both vehicle and hand held based detectors. Supposedly they can detect the magnetic field from turning on your TV. That's not that hard to do and the detection has gotten advanced enough that they can actually read a computer screen remotely (google Tempest for more info). I wonder though if LCD, plasma, and LCOS technology have made things harder to detect since they don't produce the magnetic fields a conventional set would.

[kevision]

shoot, i pay nearly 50$ a MONTH for TV :-P

In anycase, were such a system adopted in the US, we'd likely be allowed the reception of 'distant nets' as revenue would be based less on making you watch the commercials on your locals. It would also mean faster adoption and distribution of better technology. the UK has had both digital tv and radio for some time now. I dont know what their high def. rollout has been like.
True, the BBC has been criticized for not producing what the public wants and pays for. though it should be noted that unlike PBS in the US, the BBC produces content for dozens of different TV and radio stations. And it's not all publicly derided programing as i think we could all name at least one BBC comedy series. $230/year per TV might be kind of steep. but it may not be all bad.

[jpurkey]

Anyone know what cable/satellite costs in the UK? The fee wouldn't be bad if you were paying less per month for cable.

I think if a TV fee system were ever started in the US that a lot of people would find a way to cheat the system. People steal cable now. I can't image those same people would be willing to pay for just owning a TV.

[kb7oeb]

The UK isnt the only country that does that, Japan does to but I hear they don't enforce it.

[MarkA]

"Correct. It's also £40 for a black and white TV, what ever that is."

What a LOT of people in the UK officially have...

[kenglish]

In Europe/Asia, you buy the dish and the programming is free. Well, almost. About 1/2 of the channels are broadcast FTA.....TV and Radio, both.

Check out Lynsat:
http://www.lyngsat.com/europe.html

Click on the major DTH (Direct-to-Home) sats like Astra and Hotbird...The Digital channels marked "F" are Free (although, in a few cases, they require a compatible receiver), and most of the analogs are unscrambled.

For even more fun, look up the individual package providers' rates, and convert them to $USD.

[Geronimo]

Of course many americans pay a number of local fees for theor cable service. It is referred to as a franchise fee but, in the end, there is little difference.


Heck in many jurisdictions you are charged for tap water. Now tell me which of the two is more necessary?

[MarkA]

"Well, almost. About 1/2 of the channels are broadcast FTA.....TV and Radio, both."

There's a whole lot of free channels here as well. But both here and there the GOOD stuff is pay...