Does anyone in the UK have a TV licence?

@walabby How are the services funded? Are they commercial?

@ArishMell We have one government broadcaster, the ABC, that is funded from general revenue. There are also three commercial networks, and a government one that runs commercials too, the SBS...

Thank you.

The BBC is held at arm's length from the government, though there are plenty of moaning-minnies who reckon it's politically biased. Whilst some individuals on it certainly are, especially the satirists on comedy shows, when you consider the complaints it's clear that most of the critics are really objecting to it daring to allow views not their own; and this applies to both sides of the arguments!

Then there are others who moan about the styles and contents of programmes, which usually means from conversations I've had over the years, admitting not watching or listening selectively, and often not knowing even half of what the Corporation broadcasts. After all, it has 2 (or 3? I'm not sure of Channel 4's status) primary TV and 5 Radio channels, plus some extras. Unfortunately most published listings largely ignore radio services, or list only times and titles, thus deterring discriminatory exploration.

Some even merely rubbish the lot [i]en masse[/i] - but that's just lazy; confusing taste with quality. It's like me saying music is "rubbish" because I don't understand Schubert's [i]lieder[/i] (romantic German songs) or enjoy rap; or denigrating sports because I don't follow football.

That does sound a lot like our ABC. The ABC even uses a lot of BBC programming...

@walabby

The BBC trades many programmes internationally, not just on its World Service (which is funded separately, via the Foreign & Commonwealth Office).

It also attracts a big Internet audience too, but I don't know if this includes TV programmes. It runs many of its radio programmes on a short-term Internet "catch-up" system that means you don't have to record programmes you'd otherwise miss, and of course avoids international time-differences.

As you may know, the BBC is the founder-member of the European Broadcasting Union, 50 years old this year, an international exchange scheme mainly for live musical performances. It started around Europe but now extends far beyond.

Among these are an annual international Christmas carol service with each carol live from a participating church in turn; and a season of live operas from New York's Metropolitan Opera House.

It also buys programmes from abroad; but as I recall, most were American films, TV formula-drama series and children's cartoons. (The Hannah-Barbara versions were far inferior artistically to the MGM editions, of [i]Tom & Jerry[/i]!)

I think it was the BBC that broadcast [i]Neighbours[/i] in the UK - causing the pre-"like" nation's youth to pronounce every statement as if a question - but on the other side, I once chanced to see a sub-titled episode of the Mersey TV / Channel 4, British soap-opera [i]Brookside[/i], on a cafe TV - in Norway!