BBC license fee proposals...

[VincentHanna]

I would happily prefer adverts on BBC and waive the license. I rarely watch or listen to the BBC and put up with adverts on other channels. They really are taking the biscuit, it's outdated and I shouldn't have to pay for something I don't need or want.

If you don't need or want it, simply don't pay and stop watching...

 

[Felon]

I just use netflix and amazon prime for just about everything these days (TV series), regular TV (ITV/C4/etc) is just totally un-watchable full stop, the only thing I really watch from the BBC is Louis Therox documentaries and I can just DL them anyway if they lock it down..

 

[Ocean Breeze]

I will pay whatever just to keep adverts off the BBC. £145 is chump change so I couldn't care less.

 

[dowie]

It's political, an arm of the establishment, it's meant to represent Britishness, clean cut, midly conservative family viewing.

It operated under a Royal charter so that should tell you something. I think it's meant to politically represent an unbiased political view. Got to separate from the commoners.

I'm not sure that answers my post - why does that mean it can't be mostly commercially funded?

 

[Kenai]

Most of what they spend their money on isn't much different to the stuff produced by commercial rivals, I've got no problem with funding stuff that is distinctly different and unfeasible to be funded commercially but the majority of the BBC's content could be commercially funded and I fail to see any good reason why it isn't. I don't see why they can't make the majority of it commercial and divert the profits + any subsidy towards a single non-commercial PSB channel (say BBC4) and radio station + world service. Or simply just show some PSB related content amongst their usual commercial stuff as per our other state owned PSB broadcaster Channel 4.

Part of the updates today includes a requirement for increased focus on 'distinctive content', which ought to address that to some degree.

 

[SDK^]

All this fuss over £145, just pay it and stop being silly.

 

[Stretch]

Im quite surprised they dint enforce that if you have a TV you need to pay a licencee regardless of whether you only use your TV for Console and DVD use..like mine.

Anyone who buys a TV in the UK has their personal details passed on to the TV licensing authority. If you don't have a TV licences on record, they send you letters (repeatedly) asking you to prove why you don't need one. The assumption is everyone should pay the licence fee.

 

[V F]

Quite frankly I don't even care. I'm happy paying for the TV licence as long as I get to watch things like Snooker and Wimbledon without ads. Yes it's a shame that at the same time I'm also funding things like East Enders as well as the eventual demise of western civilisation but I'm not going to let that get in the way of my enjoyment of BBC programming even though it's only a small portion.

Sadly, as good as the Snooker and Wimbledon is, that is only once a year and two weeks flies past.

 

[dowie]

Part of the updates today includes a requirement for increased focus on 'distinctive content', which ought to address that to some degree.

No that doesn't address my point at all - Radio 1 will still exist, EastEnders will still exist... the point was that these could be commercially funded - I'm not talking about merely increasing the distinctive content I'm talking about commercially funding most of the content they produce and only funding distinctive/PSB content that can't otherwise be funded with the proceeds/profits of the commercial content.

 

[stewski]

Love the been mostly, like that is funded differently to the rest.

 

[Flack88]

Anyone who buys a TV in the UK has their personal details passed on to the TV licensing authority. If you don't have a TV licences on record, they send you letters (repeatedly) asking you to prove why you don't need one. The assumption is everyone should pay the licence fee.

Thats a lot of free fire lighting material

 

[/\ndy]

Ah yes, great point. I dont want to pay for BBC content so I should not watch anything on television ever as a result. ITS SO SIMPLE!

I dont feel like subscribing to The Guardian's website but I am still free to use other parts of the internet free of charge, why are the BBC allowed to monopolise an entire industry of which they themselves are only a relatively small part?

Exactly.

So are they going to make it so you get an account to access the iPlayer content, or just go down the "if you own a device that can receive BBC content then you need a licence", which would pretty much mean every person with a phone would require a licence...

This is why the model is completely flawed. There is no tell tale way of finding for sure who's using iplayer or not, unless as mentioned above, they make you sign in using a unique bbc to license number.

now that tg has gone there is nothing left anyway.

Yep, only program I looked forward to from the BBC, literally zero incentive for me to pay it.

 

[/\ndy]

All this fuss over £145, just pay it and stop being silly.

Please go.

I will pay whatever just to keep adverts off the BBC. £145 is chump change so I couldn't care less.

And herein lies the problem, just paying it without question. Smh.

 

[Kenai]

And herein lies the problem, just paying it without question. Smh.

Just as most people do with any other taxes etc.

Sometimes I think it doesn't occur to the anti BBC / anti licence posters that some people might actually even think it's a good thing, God forbid they have a different opinion on it all.

 

[413x]

I don't mind giving up iplayer
I'm assuming you will need to enter your id to access iplayer?

I'm guessing (hoping) let channels on demand won't require a licence?

If it was purely documentaries, no sports, impartial news (ie content that couldn't exist without funding) I'd pay
But eastenders and sports can easily be funded and profitable through ads

I think BBC should purely be content that isn't commercially profitable.

 

[MatsyLR]

Havnt watched tv (or catchup) for years, so don't care.
Really dont understand why so many people still watch TV, just download/stream everything you want to watch.

 

[Johno please?]

Hopefully you'll need your BBC license number to access the iPlayer and I assume it'll allow it to work on multiple devices like Netflix.

The BBC is great. 6 music, Kermode and Mayo, Glasto coverage,things like 'The Night manager' or Sherlock, plus the amazing Attenborough documentarys they've produced over the years.

I have no problem paying 40p a day to use it.

Crap radio, some pretentious film critic know it all, unwashed hippy festival.... the only good thing you mention is David Attenborough...

90% of TV is utter garbage.

 

[413x]

Crap radio, some pretentious film critic know it all, unwashed hippy festival.... the only good thing you mention is David Attenborough...

90% of TV is utter garbage.

I quite like radio 4,it's the only part of the bbc I use really apart from Attenborough documentaries. And these will obviously be not made much longer

 

[Jones]

If you don't need or want it, simply don't pay and stop watching...

He was clearly talking about him not watching BBC while still while watching other channels. Obviously he would still have to pay even if he wasn't watching BBC.

 

[Puzzled]

Iplayer has been moving towards being an account service for a while so linking that to a licensed address shouldn't be too hard. Saying that this is the BBC so they'll probably come up with some overly complicated method.

If these changes are to apply to any streaming service outside of iplayer then I will happily join in your outrage.

On a different point I don't like how the BBC is charging for old TV shows on it's store when we've already paid for them, charge outside the UK but inside it should be free to view.

TBH I'd prefer it if the BBC switched to a simple subscription model rather than a "licence" but guess it will be tricky to implement with radio etc. I'd hate to see adverts though, I pay enough to sky to see adverts don't want them on the BBC.