Why Are We Forced To Pay £154.50 Per Year To Watch Bbc?

[anotheoldgit]

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1168861/BBC-News-TV-licence-BBC-bias-pay-rise-James-Whale-Nick-de-Bois-Mandy-Boylett

Would any other broadcasting company be allowed to force us to pay yearly to watch or listen to their programmes?

One cannot even say that at least the BBC don't include commercials, they increasingly do, the difference is that their commercials only advertise their own products.

[dannyk13]

AOG, you pay to watch TV.Even if you didn't watch BBC you would still require a licence.

[teacake44]

I do wonder, due to the fact that they just keep repeating the same crap as well, week after week.

[Ellipsis]

Worth it for R4 and TMS alone.

[Mamyalynne]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence

[jno]

yes, good bunch of programmes on the Bauhaus last night. Catch Sky doing that - their Arts channel is mostly old biographies of Hollywood stars. (Today: Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Spencer Tracy.)

[fender62]

//Worth it for R4 and TMS alone.//
have you ever had a dab radio or internet radio
http://www.radio-uk.co.uk/ let alone channels you can listen to from
around the world, bbc license is an out of date concept.

[jim360]

You have to pay to watch Sky, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Virgin Media. And a good deal more than 40p/day too.

[Ellipsis]

> have you ever had a dab radio or internet radio

Yep I have and, to listen to the radio, I don't even need to pay a licence fee. The point I was making was that R4 and TMS are worth 40p a day on their own.

[THECORBYLOON]

Why would a broadcaster not make folk aware of their programmes, services and website?

[Bazile]

Interesting

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

[chelle7272]

Yes but we will soon have to pay BBC content on Britbox service as well as they redirect more shows there, as well as the licence fee!

[anotheoldgit]

jim360

/// You have to pay to watch Sky, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Virgin Media. And a good deal more than 40p/day too. ///

Only those who choose to Jim, the point that I am making is the fact that everyone, unless on a certain benefit will soon be forced to.

[davebro]

"When you have that high level of evasion the cost of enforcing the licence and collecting the revenue is so great that it's actually more efficient for a government to fund the public broadcaster from general taxation,"

Maybe if we all stopped paying the Gov would fund the BBC from general taxation?

[anotheoldgit]

I once holidayed in the communist country of Cuba, and the local tour guide couldn't believe that we in the UK were forced to pay to watch TV.

That's saying a lot for a "FREE" country isn't it?

[Spicerack]

//You have to pay to watch Sky, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Virgin Media.//

No you don't.

[THECORBYLOON]

ANOTHEOLDGIT, I'm sure you were happy not to pay, merely because you are over a certain age.

[ummmm]

So how do you watch it, SR?

I think the BBC is worth every penny.

[THECORBYLOON]

SPICERACK, are all those providers free to view?

[Mamyalynne]

I think the licence is a bargain, however I disagree with it being snatched away abruptly from the over 75s.

Maybe a reduced rate would be fairer to those people..

[jim360]

No-one's being forced to pay. They just have to pay if they want a service. I don't really see a problem with this.

Perhaps you'd feel better if they scrapped the Licence fee but then just increased taxes by a flat rate of £154.50 per person.