To say that the TV Licence should be abolished?

[Appalonia]

When I look at what I watch on TV these days on the BBC, it's really only Strictly, repeats of TOTP and Glastonbury . There's nothing else that interests me. I listen to Trevor Nelson on R2, but that's it. I watch Netflix, Amazon much more and some shows on ITV, C4 or Sky Arts. And a lot of interviews on YouTube and podcasts. I also object to how the BBC posits itself as the voice of truth and neutrality, but it really isn't these days, on so many issues.

Why are we forced to pay for a service that has had its day and is no longer fit for service?

I don't think most of you understand that it's the BBC and it's accountability that forces it to be world class TV service, and I turn forces the likes of Channel 4 and ITV etc to up their game to compete.

Also the world service is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT

In your opnion..

In the opinion of people who absolutely rely on the WS....

Interesting take on the accountability.
I see it in the opposite way.
With the likes of netflix etc. , if they show a load of dross then people cancel the subscription. It's a very immediate and obvious measure of how many people are positively engaging.
With the license structure the BBC are handed the money every year no matter what they show.
People are paying it when they don't even use the service, or they maybe watch 2 programs a week so there is no accountability. People may moan that they are showing crap but there is no reflection in the BBC';s income so it means nothing until and unless people cancel their license.
That;s before we get onto pressures from shareholders .

Could you tell me exactly why the world service is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
AFAIK it's basically BBC news and the lack of impartiality that goes with that.

They are extremely antisemitic. They've spent 100s of thousands burying the Balen report for 20 years, they publish false information such as Israel bombing hospitals and then quietly amend it, they reported a few years ago that a group of Jewish children who were attacked were shouting Islamophobic slurs when translation showed they were calling for help. A recent report came out showing the same trend in their recent I/P reporting, but I can't think of it now. Their BBC Arabic service is even more extreme. Hundreds of Jewish staffers wrote a letter asking to address the BBC's culture of antisemitism last year and were ignored. So I would not want to give them my money.

who would that be in this day and age?
It's not like people are living in some 1920's colonial outpost with no other access to information

A household tax/charge, which is what it is in effect, could be collected via local authority council tax billing, saving a fortune, and together with only funding the main tv and radio channels could reduce the amount to under £100 a year. Even more if there was a one-off charge on mobile devices that can receive tv and radio via Iplayer or other streaming.

I would be livid about that,
Why on earth should I have to pay a tax for an entertainment service i don't use?
How would you feel if a fee for Disney+ was added onto your council tax?

Sounds like a scam to get more men In dresses on telly.

Yes, I know what you said and it isn't what you are claiming. You aren't fined for owning a device capable of receiving broadcasts, you are fined for watching live TV or iPlayer.

I'm sorry you are unable to comprehend that those aren't the same thing.

Do you think that free to view channels like ITV and all the other ad funded channels would continue to broadcast that way if we lost the BBC as a licence model?

Or would they mostly migrate to subscription as well ?

That I suspect and that would probably cost more for most people and reduce choices

I think other channels and services have shown they can survive financially using a mix of subscription and advertising.
I see no reason why the BBC couldn't stand on its own 2 feet.
After all, if they make such quality programs and are the envy of the world then advertisers would be flocking to them

They countered russian propaganda when they invaded Ukraine for example. Providing a truthful account to russians...

hahaha.

My issue is they blatantly lie. I have had letters saying I have been watching live TV when u didn't even have a TV in my home and the only shows I watched were Netflix.

The letters are misleading, bullying and aggressive. They scare people into paying because they are worried about getting a knock on the door. This especially affects the elderly.

The TV License people act like the bloody mob. It is disgusting and ludicrous that people defend their awful tactics.

And comparing a TV license to your council tax is disingenuous.

Make them a subscription model and they may need to start treating their customers like exactly what they are... Customers!

If people don't pay, it gets switched off, like other services. No bullying, no harassing and no prosecuting people for Bake Off lol.

I think the people saying that the licence fee is very much worth it because of the (in their opinion) amazing TV and radio programmes that the BBC puts out are spectacularly missing the point.

I happen to agree personally that, in spite of the many, many issues surrounding the BBC, the licence fee is worth it TO ME for a lot of their output - so I happily pay it.

However, the whole point is in being forced to pay A because you want to receive things from B.

Supposing that Taylor Swift put on the most amazing concert that she'd ever performed - one which her many devoted fans would remember and cherish forever. That wouldn't interest me in the slightest - and if the owners of the stadium were legally allowed to threaten and pursue me for not paying them for a ticket - "Come on, it's an amazing concert and it's so worth the price" - when I'd already paid the local community hall for the ticket to see the wonderful folk group whose concert there I'd enjoyed immensely, in what world would this ever be fair?

Would people be snarling at me that, if I wasn't willing to pay to support an extremely rich megastar, I shouldn't be allowed to enjoy completely unconnected grass-roots music elsewhere?

There does seem to be an odd fury from some people that others may not like anything the BBC puts on, or can watch it elsewhere.
Is that because they get annoyed that each licensed cancelled is less money for BBC funding?

My issue is they blatantly lie. I have had letters saying I have been watching live TV when u didn't even have a TV in my home and the only shows I watched were Netflix.

I agree. There is a level of dishonesty and threat to their communications that is inappropriate for a supposedly respectable and publicly funded body. When you try to unpick what you can watch without a license there is a deliberate effort to mislead, eg if the question is "Do I need a license to watch ITVX" the answer will be "Yes" rather than "Only if you watch live, you can watch on demand without a license".

Agreed it, s only worth it if you actually watch TV and listen to radio.

Still watch bbc way i see it if they not come near me in 20 odd years then it definitely not needed

well yes, but it's ridiculously easy to watch 99% of what I want to without a license even doing it completely legally

The letters are computer generated sending hundreds of letters on reg basis saying the same thing designed to coerce and frighten the weak and the vulnerable into paying up

True but why have they not come near me in 20 odd years i never had a tv licence in my life n in my 40s now they came to my door in 2002 n not heard a word thing bar letters to legal occupier n my name is not legal occupier lol

If you think the BBC is world class we need to have words.

It's not accountable to anyone, it pushes mens rights over women, happily shows woman face on peak TV, keeps emptying perverts - frankly they are awful even radio 4 is sketchy

oh, I'm agreeing with you completely, and as more people cancel there will be even less chance of a "goon" visit",
All the letters are scare tactics ( as you know).
What I find interesting are the huge numbers of letters going out telling people they have been caught watching player. It's just a mass generated letter sent out to most without a license.
Is that legal to tell people they have broken the law when they haven't and then demand money?