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Have you cancelled your TV licence?

127 replies

notgettinganyyounger · 09/12/2025 19:57

Im considering cancelling mine as I dont watch much live Tv but im worried I might press the wrong channel and watch something I need the licence for. Its quite confusing as it seems its more than just BBC you need the licence for.

OP posts:
Wishitsnows · 09/12/2025 22:16

Not yet, I do need to. Especially as I cannot stand the left wing BBC bias. You have motivated me to do it.

TheGrimSmile · 09/12/2025 22:33

Im tempted over their pro-Israeli government bias. And the fact that they give Nigel Farage so much airtime. But then I probably won't as there are also lots of good dramas / radio... I would consider it though.

TheGrimSmile · 09/12/2025 22:36

Wishitsnows · 09/12/2025 22:16

Not yet, I do need to. Especially as I cannot stand the left wing BBC bias. You have motivated me to do it.

Hardly. Part of the reason that vile toad, Farage, is popular at the moment is down to the disproportionate amount of airtime he has been given over the years.

TheGrimSmile · 09/12/2025 22:36

Also they still refer to a genocide as a "war."

Vargas · 09/12/2025 22:37

No - happy to pay. BBC Sounds is fab and I watch a lot of BBC TV. Yes I get fed up with their pro drag queen and trans nonsense but it’s heavily outweighed by the good stuff.

Vargas · 09/12/2025 22:39

TheGrimSmile · 09/12/2025 22:33

Im tempted over their pro-Israeli government bias. And the fact that they give Nigel Farage so much airtime. But then I probably won't as there are also lots of good dramas / radio... I would consider it though.

See I think they have a pro-Palestine bias so maybe they’re more balanced than we think?

nayals · 09/12/2025 22:57

I’ve not had a tv licence for over 10 years.

CraftyPlayer · 09/12/2025 23:00

No. I don’t watch anything live, but I do watch Eastenders on the Iplayer, so I’m paying just for that really.

Ncforthis2244 · 10/12/2025 12:02

I don't understand posters saying thay love that BBC is ad free. All their services are riddled with ads, but for BBC products! Every 3rd or 4th song seems to be followed with an ad for some inane celebrity crap they are peddling this week.

Not to mention the cutesy wanky ads for a TV licence itself. Always with a 'northern' style voiceover to try and make it seem more like a kindly uncle giving advice rather than a bullying cash grab.

They've not had a penny of my money for decades now, and glad of it considering the right wing bias, the massively overpaid shit presenters, not to mention how much money and promotion they have committed to pedos over the years.

Chewbecca · 10/12/2025 12:04

No.

I love the BBC. I appreciate watching and listening to the radio and browsing the news site without ads. I would hate them to no longer be sustainable due to lack of funding.

Badbadbunny · 10/12/2025 12:08

Yep, it came up for renewal a few months ago and I couldn't bring myself to pay for another year of woke drivel, so cancelled it. More than happy to avoid the BBC and other live TV. Everything I'm interested in can be watched on demand on other channels. Don't miss it at all. Even more pleased with my decision following the recent BBC controversies.

Badbadbunny · 10/12/2025 12:10

Chewbecca · 10/12/2025 12:04

No.

I love the BBC. I appreciate watching and listening to the radio and browsing the news site without ads. I would hate them to no longer be sustainable due to lack of funding.

BBC is full of advs, it's just that it's advs for their own programs rather than other things. It got very repetitive and tedious.

At least with watching other channels on demand or recorded, you can fast forward the adverts. You can't do that with live TV.

Chewbecca · 10/12/2025 12:12

No ads in the middle of a show, only between shows.

yonem · 10/12/2025 12:17

We’ve had the certificate for several years saying that we don’t watch tv. You have to renew it every 2-3 years but it’s easy to do online. We have Netflix but considering getting rid of that as well as we go months without watching anything. I’ve come to the conclusion that we just don’t really enjoy watching tv or films! Some people do, so it’s worth it for them, but no need for everyone to pay by default.

elliejjtiny · 10/12/2025 12:17

No, i use bbc iPlayer all the time and we haven't got netflix etc

TheeNotoriousPIG · 10/12/2025 12:18

To most people's horror, I've never had one. I wouldn't mind paying if I could find plenty to watch on BBC iPlayer, but... I don't. On the rare occasion that I do watch something, it's on catch-up for C4 or ITV, or on Disney+, Netflix or Amazon.

Iheartmysmart · 10/12/2025 12:26

I haven’t had a tv licence for years, only ever watch Disney +, Netflix or Prime. Very occasionally one of my friends will mention a tv show that sounds vaguely interesting but it’s never enough to encourage me to start paying the BBC again.

fouroclockrock · 10/12/2025 12:41

StillCreatingAName · 09/12/2025 20:20

If you’re pressing a button to select a channel on a tv guide, you are going to watch live tv. It’s not complicated to understand and you seem to have managed a title for this goady thread with no problem, so I doubt you’d make such a silly mistake once you’ve cancelled your licence.

So no, I watch and listen to BBC programmes I won’t be cancelling.

Oh dear.

Dairymilkisminging · 10/12/2025 12:48

Id love to not have a TV licence I exclusively watch Netflix and paramount+. DH is an avid TV watcher especially BBC stuff. I wonder if its our age gap showing some days. He's 9 years older

frozendaisy · 10/12/2025 12:54

No we like the BBC output (well enough if it)
love BBC radio
and use a lot of the website
don’t watch as much in way of tv as we used to but watch it enough

hiredandsqueak · 10/12/2025 12:56

No, we have a TV license. I don't pay for any other TV services as watch very little TV but I do like the option to watch Sewing Bee if I choose and ds likes to watch sport.

Vargas · 10/12/2025 14:23

One poster complains about the BBC's left wing bias, two complain about 'woke drivel' and 'woke rubbish', and two others complain about the BBC's right wing bias. Hilarious.

sparkleghost · 10/12/2025 14:52

Does nobody object to their partnership with Capita?

I think the letters that their hired bullies send with threats of doorstep visits, fines and prosecution are absolutely appalling. They are worded to deliberately intimidate, threaten and upset the recipient. I’m pretty confident about what the license covers and why I don’t need one - but these letters also hit the doormats of the elderly, vulnerable, those with mental illness etc.
And by the way, those prosecuted are disproportionately women.

I object to this massively and every time they try to get a license out of me, I write a letter of complaint about it, pointing out that the people frightened into paying for something they possibly don’t need are likely the most vulnerable. They never care. I usually get a “sorry you feel this way” type response.

They have never visited me (possibly because as a parting shot I comment that they are welcome to visit me if they wish, but they won’t be granted entry if it’s not at my convenience).

I do like their podcasts, and their children’s content is good. But it’s a matter of principle for me. If they ever change to a model similar to streaming services - opt in to access the content, pay monthly, cancel without penalty - then I’d sign right up.

For those worrying about flipping onto live TV, if you or your children have a games console you can install streaming apps on there. For certain apps (eg Netflix) there isn’t a live terrestrial TV option, so no need to worry. We usually access streaming services through the PS5 and while we do have eg 4oD (I forget what the modern name is, showing my age now!) I’ve never accidentally accessed live terrestrial TV. It doesn’t come on by default, you have to scroll into and access a different part of the app for that.

The TV licence fee scandal: why are 1,000 people a week being casually criminalised?

Each year, tens of thousands of UK citizens are charged with non-payment of their TV licence fee – from the man who missed payments while in hospital, to a woman with a brain injury who forgot to pay

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/29/tv-licence-fee-scandal-1000-people-week-casually-criminalised

CurlewKate · 10/12/2025 14:55

No. Where are you getting your news from? The BBC isn’t perfect but it’s the best we’ve got.

Calliopespa · 10/12/2025 14:57

BatchCookBabe · 09/12/2025 20:23

If you cancel/stop paying for your licence, can they find out if you watch anything on the BBC? And if so, how do they find out?

They say they can but i'm not sure as they seem to harrass lots of people who don't watch and say "we can check you know." Unless its physically on the device itself, I don't know why they don't just get on and check like they say they can instead of wasting paper writing to people who don't watch.