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TV Licence in the UK

I am always moaning about paying my TV licence I think it's about £175 now I own a Campervan and thought I'd be breaking the law by watching Tv in my Campervan in the UK only to search the internet to find to my surprise that I can indeed legally watch television in my Campervan, providing I have a home licence which isn't being simultaneously used, providing my Campervan isn't static/permanent.

I've always thought the BBC should show adverts and save everybody the problem of paying for a Tv licence, if other Television channels can make a profit why can't the BBC,.

I suppose there are many of you out there who will jump out of your chairs and say well the BBC provides iPlayer and Ceefax as well as on-line news, I accept some of that but isn't it too expensive £175.

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FreddieUK · 70-79, M

If the BBC were to compete with ITV, C4 and 5 as well as the myriad other channels they would almost certainly make a massive dent in the commercial market, and probably force at least one of the other 'free-to-air' channels into bankruptcy. The quality of BBC programmes at their best is second-to-none and there is plenty of variety, including, of course a gold standard news service envied around the world. I can't stand EastEnders, Match of the Day or Strictly Come Dancing, but millions do and no doubt they have no time for my railways and thoughtful travelogues (e.g. fronted by Simon Reeve and Michael Portillo) or in depth history and nature programmes. If you want to know what the difference is, check out how C5's 43 minute offerings padded out to 1 hour in the schedule with commercials and trailers compares with a 58 minute offering from the BBC, which doesn't keep giving you recaps of what you've just seen or tell you what's coming up (unless it's been made for commercial distribution).

I detest adverts. I pay for ITVX and YouTube to avoid wasting my time sitting through them. I cancelled Netflix after 2 years when I realised I'd seen everything I wanted to and all the 'new' series were re-hashes of the same old plot lines and characters with different actors. They pushed their prices so high and the same with Amazon Prime when they wanted me to watch their ads.

Radios 3&4 make my fee worthwhile even before I turn in the TV.

Everyone pays for TV. It's just a matter of how you choose to do it and in a world that seems to increasingly want to emphasise cultural cohesion, for me, one way is to have an independent national broadcaster not beholden to politicians or commercial interests.

As I re-read this, I realise that I'm a bit more passionate about it than I thought. I intend only a balancing opinion.

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FreddieUK · 70-79, M

@senghenydd I think that would take us into a whole new discussion about how ordinary working people (whatever they are) are supporting the lifestyle of the Premier League divas and their agents managers and whoever else gets a cut without a murmur of discontent… Well, hardly ever.

senghenydd · M

@FreddieUK One of the poorest places I know has the most Take A Ways per population and they all ride around in Taxi's nothing nowadays surprises me, oh and all subscribe to Sky.

OriginalNedKelly · M

@senghenydd Not in Liverpool

senghenydd · M

Apart from all that's been said I'm extremely pleased that I can enjoy watching television from my Campervan without buying a second licence.

Waiting for a knock on the door from an Enforcement Officer it's a Court Offence I've met with a number of offenders over the years apparently it's not a nice thing to happen, best avoided.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

That is sad that you have to pay. There is no such law in the USA... yet.

That might happen unfortunately in the future. 😔 I couldn't pay for it in any way.

Confined · 56-60, M

You have to pay to watch TV? I pay the cable company since there is no way to Over the air where I am. But I would not pay what you are paying. Id rather not watch. If every one boycotted they would all go out of business. Problem solved.

senghenydd · M

@Confined In the UK it's mandatory to pay the Television licence fee for just watching the BBC there's no way around it even if you only watch rival channels to the BBC, unfortunately there's heavy fines if you are caught without a licence.

I own a Campervan I am pleased however I don't need to pay for a second licence.

Oh I couldn't do without my TV.

JamesBugman

@senghenydd Here we rarely turn the TV on because of all the advertising. IMO nobody has the right to shove things in my face they want to sell.
We use our TV's for XBox mostly.

JamesBugman

Apparently TV License Fees pay for public broadcasting. Why they don't call it Public Broadcast Fees I don't know.
It seems ridiculous to charge people a yearly fee just to have a TV at home.
Here public broadcasting channels rely on donations from those that watch it, there is no TV license fee.

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senghenydd · M

@JamesBugman Oh are you from outside the United Kingdom maybe you are, the courts are rigged nobody stands a chance of getting anywhere with the British courts, I'll say it again they're rigged.

FreddieUK · 70-79, M

@senghenydd The courts are not rigged. They are some of the least corrupt in the whole world. The courts can only uphold the laws parliament has legislated. Currently a TV license is enforceable in the criminal courts which has no discretion to waive the conviction, but does have discretion over the penalty it imposes. Similarly, the BBC is subject to its Royal Charter and that is set by Government and parliament at fixed intervals.

senghenydd · M

@FreddieUK I if you are caught watching a TV and you haven't a TV licence you will be fined that's straightforward.

I have an appointment I must keep it's always great to have a good discussion going on SW I'm sure we'll talk again All The Best.

peterlee · M

Making that Panorama programme where they reconstructed a Trump speech is unforgivable. The channel lacks credibility. It allowed Saville to continue unabated for years. Time it went.

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hippyjoe1955 · 70-79, M

@FreddieUK When I had a TV, I don't any more. I would sometimes tune into BBC world service. It was so biased I rarely watched it for a few moments. Many years ago I used to listen to shortwave radio and loved the way the BBC presented its information. Sadly that never translated to TV. I don't trust any news service anymore. Especially those here in Canada which are paid by the government and should they say anything against the government they will lose their funding. Of course TV viewership is way down. Radio listenership is way down. People are finding alternative sources of information that seemingly better reflects reality than that which the MSM present.

peterlee · M

@FreddieUK We are capable of making our mind up about Donald Trump without putting words in his mouth. If the BBC is prepared to do this with Trump, how can it say it is objective?

As for Saville, the macho culture contributed to him being able to go undetected, according to the 2016 report.

Further the BBC has an age policy against female presenters. This is well known, and not completely addressed. Out of course settlements use mask the issue.

FreddieUK · 70-79, M

@peterlee Aren't these somewhat old arguments about Saville and older women presenters. Have they not been addressed? The present tense (the BBC [bhas[/b] an age policy) cannot be right as it has been shown to be illegal and dealt with. It's interesting you should talk about a macho culture in the BBC since the exact opposite is true in what I've seen for many years: women are at least equal in terms of prominence these days. Look at how many expert academics who are rolled out for comment are nowadays female. Not a criticism, but rather, I contend, an observation of fact.

gol979 · 46-50, M

Its not mandatory or "law", just dont pay it and dont watch the bbc (or watch it if you are feeling rebellious).

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gol979 · 46-50, M

@FreddieUK it even says in what you have quoted.......its all to do with paying to watch the bbc. They know the law doesnt apply

FreddieUK · 70-79, M

@gol979 🤷‍♂ Let's run through that one more time.

It is an offence under section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 to watch TV channels on any TV service, watch live TV on streaming services, or use BBC iPlayer, on any device, without a valid TV Licence.

I pay because a) I don't want to be a law breaker or a freeloader and b) I enjoy many things I watch and listen to on the BBC.

As with al laws, we have a choice to ignore them and see if we can get away with it (e.g. speeding) but there is the chance of a penalty if we are caught. I have no idea why you got away with, but lucky you. You ARE breaking the law if you watch any TV channels as stated in the Act. (Again, my emphasis above.)

gol979 · 46-50, M

@FreddieUK fair enough, you pay and watch the bbc. I dont watch the bbc and legally do not need to pay a tv licence.

Im not lucky, i just dont get tricked by weasel."legal" language

TheOneyouwerewarnedabout · 46-50, MVIP

in Britain, they make you pay for your propaganda. that's wild ey?..

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