To think the TV License should be scrapped

i honestly don’t mind paying the licence fee. Local radio is funded by it, local news. BBC Bitesize is also amazing for kids. I would have to pay a tutor for that and I get it free through the licence fee.

Me too. Its a bargain.

When was that?

It's been well known for a couple of decades that they're just for show now, and maybe always were. In the digital age, what possible technology could detect if you're watching live TV / the iPlayer from a van outside your home? And why would anyone need a van to find out the names of people living at a certain address?

That's actually a good idea op. And some people should remember that the BBC is so so much more than the TV shows.
Radio 4 alone is an absolute jewel in their crown. The only problem is, only the intellectual elite listen to radio 4 - although that is actually a positive as that will include all the policymakers who hold it's future in their hands.
Then of course there is the sprawling online offering of news, entertainment and educational material. During Covid were Netflix producing daily educational TV and online content for children of all ages? Nope.
You can't lump the BBC in with all the subscriptions TV services. It is ten times and more what they are.

How do you know it's rubbish if you haven't watched in 20 years 😂

You can watch ITV programmes on online catch-up channels without needing a license.

Apologies, yes , after re reading the OP I see what you’re saying.

Although (some) tech bros are indeed trying to “destroy the world” I can’t see how they could ever be taxed even if you wanted to.

I haven't watched the bbc for a long time. I don't like any sport, eastenders, reality programmes, games shows or their rubbishy news programmes. There's just nothing much I want to see on any of their channels that I can't wait for and watch elsewhere later and I don't listen to the radio .
If they had the sense to scramble the signal & go subscription only then I probably would take it once or twice a year for a month and catch up on anything worth watching, just like I do with Netflix, Paramount plus, prime & discovery plus. That I would be happy to pay for as it would be a small one off amount when I chose to to take it. I suspect others feel the same. Of course there will be people still happy to pay year on year as they do now, good for them they can still do that, let the rest of us choose.
I don't agree with the ridiculous wages they pay their presenters, they are not worth it, none of them.

The way we pay for it does need looking at but I don't know how. I'll happily pay it all day long. Just for radio, Glastonbury, 6 Nations, Wimbledon, no ads, intelligent documentaries if nothing else. Yes please.

I don't pay for any other TV subscriptions, we have Amazon prime for delivery but half the stuff on the TV service I've seen on terrestrial telly a couple of years ago!

CBeebies was worth the entire licence fee we paid when the DC were under 7. I’m happy to pay now for R3 and R4. There’s nothing quite the same.

They don't detect. I worked for them years ago and even then they admitted that the vans were a way to scare people into paying up.

The only reason i refuse to pay it (and not watch it) is because of how threatening and abusive they are about paying it. I got a threatening letter from them in my new build house before the windows were even in and i wasnt living there. I just gave them a big F U and not subscribed to them

I have no television and don't watch any TV programmes at all ever. I haven't for about 20 years. There is nothing worth watching on the BBC. It's either reality rubbish or imported American rubbish. I have no subscriptions for television either. I enjoy reading and listening to music on the radio.
I would object strongly if I was made to pay for a service which I consider to be suboptimal and which I never use .

It's so expensive for what I use it for. I watch maybe 2-3 things a year on iPlayer, Netflix and other subscription services are much better value.

They do detect. They detected us as students not having one. Knew our names and everything.

Same here!

I know it’s not currently. I’m responding to the op who suggests it.

If the licence fee is dropped it should be subscription instead.

I'm paid up

I lived in a house before and a man came to the door. I was so vulnerable and alone, I couldnt just ignore it and its scared me since

I dunno how these millennials are doing it 😄

And Netflix don’t intrusively demand you confirm that you don’t watch Netflix and they don’t charge you for Netflix if you have a device capable of streaming content even if you don’t watch theirs. And nobody is in prison for failure to pay their Netflix subscription.

It should be subscription I’ve not paid for years as we don’t watch live tv or Iplayer.

A subscription where I could one day decide I want to watch something and just pay for one month makes much more sense.

No one watches via a physical transmitter anymore

We do! We've just bought a new Freeview PVR. I love it.

I think if it was funded by general taxation it would be more at risk from government interference.

The BBC also do things like fund local independent reporters and we've taken part in orchestra outreach - I think we would lose a lot of culturally important stuff if we made if into just another subscription service. I have learnt so much from Radio 4!

The license fee isn’t fit for the modern age, it needs to be subscription only. At the moment I’m enjoying the celebrity traitors so would still be happy to pay a subscription when there is something worth watching. There are a few gems but a hell of a lot of rubbish.

Not really, as to watch netflix I just have to pay for netflix, I don’t have to also pay for prime or disney plus.

Where as I would be forced to pay for fhe BBC to watch ITV, despite the fact that the BBC do not fund ITV in anyway.

It’s not a tax though.

You don’t use it; you don’t pay it, the same as many other services.

The enforcement stuff though is intrusive and assumes you are using it though, granted.

Surely it’s no different to paying a Netflix subscription, or paying for Sky?