5 ms·

Taking out of context, but I found "Having a television antenna is every American’s right.” to be pretty funny.

dmckeon 14y ago
From a UK context, it may be less funny: In the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, any household watching or recording live television transmissions as they are being broadcast (terrestrial, satellite, cable, or internet) is required to hold a television licence. Since 1 April 2010 the annual licence fee has been £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for black and white. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_Un...
- hp50g 14y ago
  Bargain. The content is great across the board. I happily pay my license.
  - jrockway 14y ago
    Are there ads?
    - VLM 14y ago
      10 seconds on wikipedia would show the answer is "no". This is kind of a problem when trying to import UK shows into the US, aside from being two nations separated by language, its hard to figure out how to shoehorn "an hour" of show into our 1/3 advertisement schedules. Even PBS has about 10 minutes of ads and "sponsorship ads" per hour. My superficial opinion is BBC shows transmit at an IQ around 100 or local population average, compared to USA TV around an IQ of 60 or so. I believe this discrepancy is demanded by advertisers wanting the eyeballs to be more gullible, a more easily duped audience. So aside from imports being "too long" for US viewers, imports assume the viewers actually graduated high school, etc, which is another impedance mismatch. Its hilarious comparing shows that jumped the pond, like scrapheap challenge/junkyard wars. Similar, yes, but a definite class distinction of being aimed at grade school level vs high school level.
      - hp50g 14y ago
        I think the interesting part about the BBC is that I agree they transmit at IQ average 100, but the upper standard deviation is quite high too :)
- dkulchenko 14y ago
  As someone living in the U.S., I'd happily pay the ~$18.50/month to have unlimited access to the programming (plus web streaming) that U.K. citizens do.
  - lifeisstillgood 14y ago
    It is rather nice. You guys ought to try it.
    - twoodfin 14y ago
      I'd put Netflix ($8/month) + Amazon Prime Video ($6.50/month and Prime shipping included!) up against the BBC's streaming library any time.
      - lifeisstillgood 14y ago
        Its not the library (well, 70 years of back catalogue quality helps) - its the production. Both Netflix and Amazon know this, and are starting up as production companies. Now put that against an organisation who has been world leader since the industry was invented. We have somehow ended up with a jewel that keeps producing fantastic quality work. It will find a way to navigate entertainment for the next 70 years too, I hope.
      - tomrod 14y ago
        Dr. Who--does Amazon Prime update more frequently than Netflix?
  - sultezdukes 14y ago
    Ever heard of Cable or Satellite?
    - dkulchenko 14y ago
      British TV license = no ads. Cable/satellite = I'm paying $40 a month and getting ads interrupting what I'm watching every 5 minutes. Also, have you seen British television? The quality of the original programming far surpasses most of the networks we have in the U.S., and is easily on par with premium channels like HBO.

From a UK context, it may be less funny: In the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, any household watching or recording live television transmissions as they are being broadcast (terrestrial, satellite, cable, or internet) is required to hold a television licence. Since 1 April 2010 the annual licence fee has been £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for black and white. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_Un...

hp50g 14y ago
Bargain. The content is great across the board. I happily pay my license.
- jrockway 14y ago
  Are there ads?
  - VLM 14y ago
    10 seconds on wikipedia would show the answer is "no". This is kind of a problem when trying to import UK shows into the US, aside from being two nations separated by language, its hard to figure out how to shoehorn "an hour" of show into our 1/3 advertisement schedules. Even PBS has about 10 minutes of ads and "sponsorship ads" per hour. My superficial opinion is BBC shows transmit at an IQ around 100 or local population average, compared to USA TV around an IQ of 60 or so. I believe this discrepancy is demanded by advertisers wanting the eyeballs to be more gullible, a more easily duped audience. So aside from imports being "too long" for US viewers, imports assume the viewers actually graduated high school, etc, which is another impedance mismatch. Its hilarious comparing shows that jumped the pond, like scrapheap challenge/junkyard wars. Similar, yes, but a definite class distinction of being aimed at grade school level vs high school level.
    - hp50g 14y ago
      I think the interesting part about the BBC is that I agree they transmit at IQ average 100, but the upper standard deviation is quite high too :)
dkulchenko 14y ago
As someone living in the U.S., I'd happily pay the ~$18.50/month to have unlimited access to the programming (plus web streaming) that U.K. citizens do.
- lifeisstillgood 14y ago
  It is rather nice. You guys ought to try it.
  - twoodfin 14y ago
    I'd put Netflix ($8/month) + Amazon Prime Video ($6.50/month and Prime shipping included!) up against the BBC's streaming library any time.
    - lifeisstillgood 14y ago
      Its not the library (well, 70 years of back catalogue quality helps) - its the production. Both Netflix and Amazon know this, and are starting up as production companies. Now put that against an organisation who has been world leader since the industry was invented. We have somehow ended up with a jewel that keeps producing fantastic quality work. It will find a way to navigate entertainment for the next 70 years too, I hope.
    - tomrod 14y ago
      Dr. Who--does Amazon Prime update more frequently than Netflix?
- sultezdukes 14y ago
  Ever heard of Cable or Satellite?
  - dkulchenko 14y ago
    British TV license = no ads. Cable/satellite = I'm paying $40 a month and getting ads interrupting what I'm watching every 5 minutes. Also, have you seen British television? The quality of the original programming far surpasses most of the networks we have in the U.S., and is easily on par with premium channels like HBO.