You pay for the programmes, not the broadcast, obviously. You can just say "I don't need a TV license" online and usually that's the end of it. https://tvlicens

You pay for the programmes, not the broadcast, obviously. You can just say "I don't need a TV license" online and usually that's the end of it. https://tvlicensing.co.uk/noTV https://tvlicensing.co.uk/noTV And in many other countries the "TV license" is just included in general tax; in e.g. when the TV license was abolished in the Netherlands taxes went up by 1.1% to compensate. In Germany it's €220/year/person (not household) regardless of whether you have a TV or not. This way you don't pay for a product I don't use.