TV Licence

[TheOriginalLongsider]

If BBC is so good it should stand on its own 2 feet and go down the subscription route. It’s just wrong that you have to pay for a licence even if you don’t watch/listen to BBC eg if you only watch ITV and Channel 4. Only country in the world that has a tv licence ! I possibly would subscribe but it should be a choice

[BenWickes]

If BBC is so good it should stand on its own 2 feet and go down the subscription route. It’s just wrong that you have to pay for a licence even if you don’t watch/listen to BBC eg if you only watch ITV and Channel 4. Only country in the world that has a tv licence ! I possibly would subscribe but it should be a choice

Turns out we're not the only ones. I was surprised by this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26546570

[evensteadiereddie]

If BBC is so good it should stand on its own 2 feet and go down the subscription route. It’s just wrong that you have to pay for a licence even if you don’t watch/listen to BBC eg if you only watch ITV and Channel 4. Only country in the world that has a tv licence ! I possibly would subscribe but it should be a choice

[DCWat]

It does represent great value for money. I think its just the way it's funded that causes issue.
It looks like it will be cutting costs by reviewing its "comedy" output too which is good. Personally I find my licence fee being spent on the modern woke stuff a bit gualing but each to their own.
I'm counting down the days until I can cancel everything associated with sky. That is horrendous value for money given the shite coverage of everything it puts out of late

If reviewing their comedy output means that the likes of Mrs Browns Boys and Miranda will be confined to some obscure satellite channels, I’ll happily pay an increase on my license.

[Stan Tastic]

Some of the arguments in favour of the BBC are basically "I like quite a few of their programmes so it's quite alright that everyone has to pay for it, whether they want it or not."

Absolutely ridiculous in this day and age that people are literally being forced to pay for something they don't want, or need.

[Barry_Chuckle]

If the BBC didnt waste the fee of the talentless named by DCWat above, and the likes of Garth Crook (see the thread) then perhaps more folk wouldn't mind paying it as much.
I must add though, I thoroughly enjoyed "Ghosts" and would recommend it for those who missed it.

[Bosscat]

If the BBC didnt waste the fee of the talentless named by DCWat above, and the likes of Garth Crook (see the thread) then perhaps more folk wouldn't mind paying it as much.
I must add though, I thoroughly enjoyed "Ghosts" and would recommend it for those who missed it.

[Murger]

It's time the license fee was scrapped. It's an absolute disgrace that people get threats of court if they refuse to pay. There are plenty of videos on YouTube of Capita employees being aggressive.

[Tall Paul]

If reviewing their comedy output means that the likes of Mrs Browns Boys and Miranda will be confined to some obscure satellite channels, I’ll happily pay an increase on my license.

Those programmes are very popular. If the licence fee was scrapped we'd no doubt see more of them.

[Volvoclaret]

Nowadays the BBC produces very little output. They buy quite a lot in from independent producers and just broadcast the programmes
I've always been a supporter of the Beeb but now all I see is a bloated, overpaid organisation that cannot compete with modern broadcasting and cannot justify a licence fee.

[Spiral]

Some of the arguments in favour of the BBC are basically "I like quite a few of their programmes so it's quite alright that everyone has to pay for it, whether they want it or not."

While I support the BBC's current model, you're right, and I don't think that's a good enough argument in and of itself to continue its way of being funded. This is why arguments need to be made about its value as an institution, because qualitative judgements about its output aren't strong enough by themselves to justify forcing people to pay for it, not to mention that those arguments are by their nature subjective. Even if everything was top drawer, world class, gold standard, choose whatever superlative you like — and even if everyone agreed on the supreme quality of its output, its value as a publicly funded public service broadcaster still needs to be articulated in terms of its institutional value, and I believe this is justification enough for the fee, in the way taxes are justified in the quality of the services they pay for which make the country a better place to live in. It's a shame this hardly ever gets talked about while people focus on the calibre of entertainment and comparative price of the BBC.