Is the BBC TV Fee really only Ł145/year?

"Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney" (braddelaparker)
07/30/2014 at 11:01 • Filed to: None

Because the way the British at-large-on-the-internet speak of the fee makes it sound like it's a budget-crippling amount of money.

DISCUSSION (20)

For Sweden > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
07/30/2014 at 11:03

It's Ł145 per TV to watch ANY live TV. You have to pay the government for the privilege of watching TV, even if it's not the BBC.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
07/30/2014 at 11:06

It's not just BBC, it's any live program that you wish to watch or record. You face a Ł1,000 fine if you are found not paying your TV licence. Even the blind have to pay 50% of the regular licence fee.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > For Sweden
07/30/2014 at 11:07

Is this in addition to cable? or is that cable included? Because I know some people who pay that per month for cable.

Jaaag Hartley > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
07/30/2014 at 11:09

its not so much the cost its the quality. 'Why am I paying for this rubbish' or 'Why do i have to pay for a corporation that has been protecting child abusers'

Victorious Secret > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
07/30/2014 at 11:11

I think its per TV, but even in our household that would be 290 a year which...is what our sat bill does in 3 months, even once you convert currencies.

Goddamn Canada.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > For Sweden
07/30/2014 at 11:12

Oh jesus, I forgot about that bullshit.

Nevermind, Britons: bitch away.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
07/30/2014 at 11:12

Forgot that's how it works.

Bitch away, Britons.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Jaaag Hartley
07/30/2014 at 11:15

Very true. And oh my God, have you seen the trailer for Tumble? I literally only recognise one person amongst all the "celebrities". It just promises to be a very large pile of awfulness.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jaaag Hartley
07/30/2014 at 11:50

Eh, it pays for Top Gear, BBC F1 coverage and David Attenborough documentaries which is pretty much all that's worth watching on TV for me*.

*bar cool shows like Wheeler Dealers, For the Love of Cars and Idris Elba: King of Speed

Jaaag Hartley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
07/30/2014 at 12:32

Also, not car related but BBC and awesome at the minute, Been watching The Honourable Woman??

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jaaag Hartley
07/30/2014 at 13:25

I haven't no, what's the premise?

Oh, and how could I forget Sherlock?

Jaaag Hartley > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
07/30/2014 at 15:07

Essentially its about a British/Israeli woman who has just been made a Baroness, she's the head of a company that is in the middle of providing high speed broadband to the West Bank. So its all about Israel/Palestine (so bit relevant at the minute), its about Spying, about kidnapping, about murder, rape, affairs. Everything really but watch the first episode and you'll see it is incredibly well written and beautifully filmed.

I promise I'm not friends with someone who worked on it I'm just in love with it.

Also Maggie Gyllenhaal's English accent is absolutely perfect, not a hint of her real voice.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jaaag Hartley
07/31/2014 at 05:11

...I think you might have sold it to me. Shall give it a watch :)

Svend > For Sweden
07/31/2014 at 16:09

The TV Licence Fee is per HOUSEHOLD, not per tv and is to watch it live. BBC iPlayer can be watched with and without a tv licence as you can tick 'no tv licence' and it creates a slight 'lag' so your technically not watching it live.

What that means is I can watch live tv on any divice as long as I have a tv licence for my registered address. If I was to watch tv live and have my device plugged into a wall socket charging then the address to which that socket is in, has to have a tv licence unless I'm not watching something 'live' then no tv licence is required at the address of which the device is plugged in or my own address.

Svend > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
07/31/2014 at 16:24

The BBC does a lot more than a few tv channels and radio channels. It monitors all radio and tv frequencies for information (called BBC Monitoring) and invests heavily in arts, entertainment and communities. Think of all the British tv programmes and films that have been televised and then think of what spin offs have been made in your own country from it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebb…

During WWII the BBC had a radio station called Radio Londres. It was entirely in French and was used to give word to the French about what was happening, people sent and smuggled letters out of France with simply 'BBC London' writen on it. People wrote with stories of what was happening where they lived some even had map information about where to bomb knowing that should the allied powers choose to bomb it they would almost certainly be killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Lon…

We bitch and complain about the BBC, the Monachy and anything else because that's what people do. What people don't see is that that money is in the most part exceptionally well spent.

The BBC is an institution that not just benefits the British with tv programming but the world and with impartial news (sure we can all from time to time see that some broadcasters are maybe not as impartial as the BBC would like but that also allows for debate rather than, here's a question for you and here's your answer, okay thank you).

I know that where ever I am in the world I can get information relevant to me and where I am. How many can say that for NBC, CNN, FOX, Al Jazerra, etc, etc... ?

Svend > Victorious Secret
07/31/2014 at 16:30

It's per household. So whether there is one person at your address or 12 it's one fee. Discounts and even free licences can be had if you are impaired in any way. My mother is housebound and pays no fee at all. She can watch live tv anywhere (as long as the device she is watching it live on has a licence if it is plugged into the mains power supply, say charging, as it's classed as hard wired to the property therefore that premise requires a licence of it's own but if she was to watch the programme not live with any delay from the source then a licence is not required.

KirkyV > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
08/01/2014 at 08:12

I pay it happily, and as I wholeheartedly support the idea of a well-funded public broadcaster that isn't beholden to commercial interests and doesn't show ads, I'm glad it's mandatory. I think there's a good argument for rolling the licence fee into more general taxation as, for now, you have to pay exactly the same amount whether you're earning Ł15,000 a year or Ł150,000 a year, but I would never support its abolishment. The BBC is an institution worth protecting.

Leon711 > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
08/01/2014 at 09:04

That covers all TV but the proceeds only go to the BBC which has no ads or ad breaks whatsoever, other networks have to get their cash via adverts and subscriptions like cable. in the UK there is Satellite services provided by Sky and Freesat, Cable by Virgin Media and Freeview. Sky and Virgin are your average subscription services with the most content and on demand services. Freeview and Freesat are free services, you pay for the hardware and install (though you can install yourself) and you get the the main BBC, ITV and Channel 4 and 5 channels and some of the smaller cable channels with no subscription.

Even if you never watch any of the BBC channels you would still be required to pay the licence fee, and as all TV signals in the UK are digital signals they can accurately tell who is watching, and fine the offending person/s.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Leon711
08/01/2014 at 09:58

Wow. That's actually not bad. The exchange rate is about $1.70 per pound. Considering even the most basic cable will run $40-90 a month, with ads, and full of bullshit TV, and satellite is at least $35/mo with a 2-year contract — for about 40 channels. I'd much rather pay a few hundred for a dish or cable box with a $250 per year fee than get the gouging from the 3 options we have for TV here. (direcTV, Dish, or whichever cable company is contracted by the local municipality).

Leon711 > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
08/01/2014 at 10:16

at home we have Virgin and we pay around Ł70 and month for a package deal with Internet and phone service and we have around 300 channels and a reasonable broadband speed. It's not bad really, but the British as a population like to moan about something, my moans are often focused around stupid people.