5 ms·

Good. Currently I'm forced to pay for content I dont consume.

iso1210 5y ago
I don't need to pay for a license fee because I don't watch TV. I watch Netflix, amazon, apple, disney etc. I still pay it because I'm listening to radio 2 at the moment, and have the news website in the background. While legally I don't need a license fee for that, it feels wrong to not be contributing. Unless you're some weird boomer still paying £600 a year for a sky subscription to watch shit TV broken by adverts, I'm not sure why you'd pay a license fee (unless of course you actually watch BBC output)
- ThePadawan 5y ago
  Great to here that this works in the UK. The Swiss equivalent has simply declared that "any device capable of using the internet" can also receive television programs, and thus isn't exempt. So no one with a computer or smartphone is exempt. (At least this "solves" the apparent problem that UK residents can't watch some UK TV content online for free, while the rest of the world can)
- hadrien01 5y ago
  I have the exact same position here in France. I don't have to pay the TV license because I don't have a TV, but I still do because I consume so much content made by public media organisations (Franceinfo, Arte, Radio France, etc.).
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  I'm in the same position as you (don't watch license-requiring content, but appreciate other BBC content such as their website) but I refuse to pay the license out of principle as to not encourage/support their bullshit approach at enforcement. I disagree with the idea of generating insane amounts of paper waste (and sometimes sending crooks in-person) to threaten less scam-savvy people into paying for a license they don't need, especially when said people might be lower-income that can't afford paying for a license "out of charity" if they aren't required to by law.
jaymzcampbell 5y ago
I know there's lots of conflicting horror stories online but years ago when I moved house and had no TV at all, I submitted a declaration[1] saying I didn't need one and haven't had any hassle since. After a few months I realised I wasn't missing live TV at all and never went back. [1] https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/telling-us-you-dont-need-a-tv-licence https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/t...
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  The declaration only lasts for a year or so, not to mention that out of principle there is no reason for us to help them save money on not sending their letters/goons especially considering they started the whole thing to begin with. Let them reap what they sowed.
  - jaymzcampbell 5y ago
    Hello you - sorry I missed your SMS before xmas :') - They've left me alone since 2018, I think I had one follow up declaration and then that was it. Agree regarding we shouldn't have to on principle but I just went along with it for the sake of drawing a line under it.
    - Nextgrid 5y ago
      Completely missed the username - hope you are well!
- brigandish 5y ago
  They still might have a telly, just never watch the Beeb.
verytrivial 5y ago
Mate, you're going to spit blood when you hear about all the roads, hospitals and armed forces you're paying for but not directly using.
- Turing_Machine 5y ago
  Just about everyone uses roads, hospitals, and enjoys the security provided by armed forces (for example, the OP apparently has a computer or smart phone, which I'm betting traveled on a road for some part of its journey from the factory to him, and which I'm betting relied on the implicit security provided by military forces to prevent it being hijacked on the way). Broadcast television is at an entirely different level of the Maslow hierarchy. It's quite possible to lead a productive and enjoyable life without consuming broadcast television at all, much less one particular channel of broadcast television.
  - dijit 5y ago
    You make decent points but I'm not entirely sure I buy this line of reasoning. A significant bulk of BBC funding seems to go into news and education, an educated and informed population is generally better for everyone. Could we live without entertainment TV such as Eastenders? Probably, though it can often serve a purpose in education such as (poor) representation of schizophrenia and suicide which can point people (and their family&friends) to helplines for getting adequate support. Entertainment TV maybe also lends credibility to the idea that the BBC isn't just "boring" stuff like PBS might be considered in the USA, and thus people might be more inclined to engage with the content. I'm speculating, but even when I view the BBC coldly I don't see it as being as black and white as all that, I would say the net contribution to society is so high that you would feel it's effects even if you don't directly engage with it.
- b112 5y ago
  At least roads get groceries to the local mart, military keeps the barbarians (and civilized, but irksome french) out, and the hospitals are there, for when you need your jabs to travel to the Isle of Mann.
- 5y ago
thinkingemote 5y ago
If you dont consume it, you do not have to pay. Nothing and noone is forcing you.
- dazc 5y ago
  My dad has a TV licence despite watching 100% via streaming services. No matter what I tell him, he insists he has to have a licence. This is a widely held view with people of a similar age. Maybe the BBC could do an information campaign to educate them otherwise? I won't hold my breath though.
  - nickkell 5y ago
    Which streaming service are you referring to? AFAIK you do actually need a license to watch BBC iPlayer
    - philk10 5y ago
      iPlayer asks if you have a license and you say Yes...
      - dazc 5y ago
        Sometimes also asks if you are over 18. Just as well so many people are honest?
    - dazc 5y ago
      Netflix, amazon, itv and Now (Sky) mostly. He does use iPlayer but, AFAIK, you only need a licence to watch live broadcast TV. I concede you can watch live (or pretty much nearly live) TV on iplayer but he doesn't do that.
      - dfawcus 5y ago
        The legislation was changed such that a licence is needed to watch any content on iPlayer. This was the whole 'iplayer hole' stuff which hit the news a few years ago. The Beeb were hoping to have the various commercial streaming services covered by the licence requirement, but failed - in part as it would break/invalidate the operating model for those commercial services.
LatteLazy 5y ago
You don't pay because you watch it. You pay so other people have some access to actual information so that we can have a functioning democracy and society. If you don't want those things, move to a failed state somewhere. If you do, pay up and get over yourself.
- brigandish 5y ago
  If the BBC is the only thing stopping the UK from becoming a failed state then God help us. Or, we could simply carry on without it and not really notice. I'm going with the latter.
  - LatteLazy 5y ago
    We've already had Brexit and Prime Minister Boris. How much more failed would you like the UK to become? We don't have the weather for literally being mad max...
    - brigandish 5y ago
      I've been to a fair few places around the world, some experiencing levels of poverty, corruption and violence that should make any human weep. To compare the UK to those, while using the terms "Brexit" and "Prime Minister Boris" is absurd and hyperbolic, if not disrespectful to both the UK and those people in the places I mentioned.
      - LatteLazy 5y ago
        Yes, we should wait until it's happened and then try to stop it from happening.
        brigandish 5y ago
        > failed state > noun > a state whose political or economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control: if we turn our back on the developing world we will see more failed states. This is not the UK based on Brexit or Boris Johnson or anything that entails from them. Will the UK still be in the G8 after Boris Johnson is no longer prime minister? Yes. - Will the UK still be in the G8 long after Boris Johnson is no longer prime minister? Yes. - Will the UK still be in the G8 after Brexit? Yes, it is. - Will the UK still be in the G8 long after Brexit? Yes. I also think you could change those questions to their opposites in an alternate reality, i.e. Jeremy Corbyn and staying in the EU, which is probably why I find your view to be overwrought. There are plenty of states outside of the EU that are in the G8, and though I don't agree with much of what Johnson has done, the likelihood it will transform the UK into a failed state is utterly absurd to me, and clearly, to any majority that counts, whether it is UK voters, those who put money into the UK, and every other nation state.

I don't need to pay for a license fee because I don't watch TV. I watch Netflix, amazon, apple, disney etc. I still pay it because I'm listening to radio 2 at the moment, and have the news website in the background. While legally I don't need a license fee for that, it feels wrong to not be contributing. Unless you're some weird boomer still paying £600 a year for a sky subscription to watch shit TV broken by adverts, I'm not sure why you'd pay a license fee (unless of course you actually watch BBC output)

ThePadawan 5y ago
Great to here that this works in the UK. The Swiss equivalent has simply declared that "any device capable of using the internet" can also receive television programs, and thus isn't exempt. So no one with a computer or smartphone is exempt. (At least this "solves" the apparent problem that UK residents can't watch some UK TV content online for free, while the rest of the world can)
hadrien01 5y ago
I have the exact same position here in France. I don't have to pay the TV license because I don't have a TV, but I still do because I consume so much content made by public media organisations (Franceinfo, Arte, Radio France, etc.).
Nextgrid 5y ago
I'm in the same position as you (don't watch license-requiring content, but appreciate other BBC content such as their website) but I refuse to pay the license out of principle as to not encourage/support their bullshit approach at enforcement. I disagree with the idea of generating insane amounts of paper waste (and sometimes sending crooks in-person) to threaten less scam-savvy people into paying for a license they don't need, especially when said people might be lower-income that can't afford paying for a license "out of charity" if they aren't required to by law.

jaymzcampbell 5y ago

I know there's lots of conflicting horror stories online but years ago when I moved house and had no TV at all, I submitted a declaration[1] saying I didn't need one and haven't had any hassle since. After a few months I realised I wasn't missing live TV at all and never went back. [1] https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/telling-us-you-dont-need-a-tv-licence https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/t...

Nextgrid 5y ago
The declaration only lasts for a year or so, not to mention that out of principle there is no reason for us to help them save money on not sending their letters/goons especially considering they started the whole thing to begin with. Let them reap what they sowed.
- jaymzcampbell 5y ago
  Hello you - sorry I missed your SMS before xmas :') - They've left me alone since 2018, I think I had one follow up declaration and then that was it. Agree regarding we shouldn't have to on principle but I just went along with it for the sake of drawing a line under it.
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    Completely missed the username - hope you are well!
brigandish 5y ago
They still might have a telly, just never watch the Beeb.

verytrivial 5y ago

Mate, you're going to spit blood when you hear about all the roads, hospitals and armed forces you're paying for but not directly using.

Turing_Machine 5y ago
Just about everyone uses roads, hospitals, and enjoys the security provided by armed forces (for example, the OP apparently has a computer or smart phone, which I'm betting traveled on a road for some part of its journey from the factory to him, and which I'm betting relied on the implicit security provided by military forces to prevent it being hijacked on the way). Broadcast television is at an entirely different level of the Maslow hierarchy. It's quite possible to lead a productive and enjoyable life without consuming broadcast television at all, much less one particular channel of broadcast television.
- dijit 5y ago
  You make decent points but I'm not entirely sure I buy this line of reasoning. A significant bulk of BBC funding seems to go into news and education, an educated and informed population is generally better for everyone. Could we live without entertainment TV such as Eastenders? Probably, though it can often serve a purpose in education such as (poor) representation of schizophrenia and suicide which can point people (and their family&friends) to helplines for getting adequate support. Entertainment TV maybe also lends credibility to the idea that the BBC isn't just "boring" stuff like PBS might be considered in the USA, and thus people might be more inclined to engage with the content. I'm speculating, but even when I view the BBC coldly I don't see it as being as black and white as all that, I would say the net contribution to society is so high that you would feel it's effects even if you don't directly engage with it.
b112 5y ago
At least roads get groceries to the local mart, military keeps the barbarians (and civilized, but irksome french) out, and the hospitals are there, for when you need your jabs to travel to the Isle of Mann.
5y ago

thinkingemote 5y ago

If you dont consume it, you do not have to pay. Nothing and noone is forcing you.

dazc 5y ago
My dad has a TV licence despite watching 100% via streaming services. No matter what I tell him, he insists he has to have a licence. This is a widely held view with people of a similar age. Maybe the BBC could do an information campaign to educate them otherwise? I won't hold my breath though.
- nickkell 5y ago
  Which streaming service are you referring to? AFAIK you do actually need a license to watch BBC iPlayer
  - philk10 5y ago
    iPlayer asks if you have a license and you say Yes...
    - dazc 5y ago
      Sometimes also asks if you are over 18. Just as well so many people are honest?
  - dazc 5y ago
    Netflix, amazon, itv and Now (Sky) mostly. He does use iPlayer but, AFAIK, you only need a licence to watch live broadcast TV. I concede you can watch live (or pretty much nearly live) TV on iplayer but he doesn't do that.
    - dfawcus 5y ago
      The legislation was changed such that a licence is needed to watch any content on iPlayer. This was the whole 'iplayer hole' stuff which hit the news a few years ago. The Beeb were hoping to have the various commercial streaming services covered by the licence requirement, but failed - in part as it would break/invalidate the operating model for those commercial services.

LatteLazy 5y ago

You don't pay because you watch it. You pay so other people have some access to actual information so that we can have a functioning democracy and society. If you don't want those things, move to a failed state somewhere. If you do, pay up and get over yourself.

brigandish 5y ago
If the BBC is the only thing stopping the UK from becoming a failed state then God help us. Or, we could simply carry on without it and not really notice. I'm going with the latter.
- LatteLazy 5y ago
  We've already had Brexit and Prime Minister Boris. How much more failed would you like the UK to become? We don't have the weather for literally being mad max...
  - brigandish 5y ago
    I've been to a fair few places around the world, some experiencing levels of poverty, corruption and violence that should make any human weep. To compare the UK to those, while using the terms "Brexit" and "Prime Minister Boris" is absurd and hyperbolic, if not disrespectful to both the UK and those people in the places I mentioned.
    - LatteLazy 5y ago
      Yes, we should wait until it's happened and then try to stop it from happening.
      - brigandish 5y ago
        > failed state > noun > a state whose political or economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control: if we turn our back on the developing world we will see more failed states. This is not the UK based on Brexit or Boris Johnson or anything that entails from them. Will the UK still be in the G8 after Boris Johnson is no longer prime minister? Yes. - Will the UK still be in the G8 long after Boris Johnson is no longer prime minister? Yes. - Will the UK still be in the G8 after Brexit? Yes, it is. - Will the UK still be in the G8 long after Brexit? Yes. I also think you could change those questions to their opposites in an alternate reality, i.e. Jeremy Corbyn and staying in the EU, which is probably why I find your view to be overwrought. There are plenty of states outside of the EU that are in the G8, and though I don't agree with much of what Johnson has done, the likelihood it will transform the UK into a failed state is utterly absurd to me, and clearly, to any majority that counts, whether it is UK voters, those who put money into the UK, and every other nation state.