TV Licence Super Thread

[a1ex2001]

We had subscription TV 30+ years ago. You just have a decoder box with an insertable membership card. Sky used it forever.

That way only the people who want it need to buy it.



AI is heavily censored, so ignores the whole peado thing.

So now we are defining the entirety of the BBC by ‘the wholeness thing’ great skills! You can keep arguing against it all you like but the evidence says the BBC is still internationally well known and respected. Even here in the UK the vast majority of people are still regularly consuming BBC services be it TV, streaming, radio etc.

I get that some people here don’t like the BBC and don’t consume it’s output but that doesn’t mean you can just adjust the facts to suit your argument.

The BBC is still an internationally recognised institution and still plays a significant part in the lives of people in the UK. The BBC’s output is generally independent, factual and balanced. These are all simple facts even though you might wish they weren’t!

 

[jpaul]

Seems to be a misinformation campaign against the bbc - thry were reporting X feeds discussing it's apparent AI generated content;
their wall to wall advertising campaign for traitors and strictly seems to be up there with the best/netflix's capability though.

France is now financing public tv from VAT so that confounds earlier post LOL citizens are paying,
equally channel4 is 'reinventing' itself, so not in rude health.

Moderator’s score: 4/10. Poor sentence structure, inconsistent punctuation, a semicolon isn't a decorative full stop. Attention to grammar required!

 

[Tavis75]

We had subscription TV 30+ years ago. You just have a decoder box with an insertable membership card. Sky used it forever.

Yes, that's why I said people would have to buy new TVs\set-top boxes, switching to an encrypted broadcast would stop millions of TVs and devices working, that's a massive issue to resolve. A set-top box might be a solution for a TV, but then you have PVRs and all sorts of other devices that would no longer work and where plugging in a set-top box isn't a fix.

 

[C Kent]

Snip

I think ultimately we'll have to agree to disagree, the bbc and its proponents seem to be stuck in the past regarding tv viewing habits and how the bbc should be funded. On one hand you've those who believe everyone in the uk should be made to fund it regardless if you watch their content and regardless if you are struggling with the cost of living and those would prefer to see a more modern approach where those that want it can.

There's nothing ultimately stopping them from separating out different elements - tv, radio and online services and having different subscription/tier prices based on what you consume. 10 quid a month for a BBC tv licence that gives you access to BBC television content/iplayer, 3 quid for radio and 3 quid for online (BBC website access locked behind a paywall similar to the times, telegraph etc where you either link your one size fits all licence or registering and paying is your online version). Have a cheaper version based on what you require, wanna have the full whack, that's 15quid a month instead of £16, want radio and online, thats a fiver rather than 6quid etc. That in itself would probably require modernisation tho, as i believe the only tracker for the tv licence is by address rather than anything else tangible.

Elements such as the world service could be fully subsided by the government, I believe its approx. cost to the bbc is 400m p.a, with the government giving a 150m subsidy every year for it, they'll just have to find some cash down the back of the sofa, maybe a handful less illegal migrants per year /chortle.

Actual modernisation of the bbc would require the bbc themselves to get out of their old mindset of everyone needs to pay, that's not what they want tho. Their idea of modernisation is 'how can we get more people to be forced to pay', you only have to look at how they describe folks who stopped paying for a tv licence and the lengths they go to to force them to.

 

[jpaul]

even if the british public doesn't care about bbc&paying the license fee, foreign actors do
one of the aforementioned bbc fake news reports not sure how the BBC can ensure legitimacy of posts attributed to it,
... imitation is the highest form of flattery

Moderator’s score: 2/10. Another post rife with poor sentence construction, inconsistent capitalisation and an almost complete absence of punctuation.

 

[a1ex2001]

Actual modernisation of the bbc would require the bbc themselves to get out of their old mindset of everyone needs to pay, that's not what they want tho. Their idea of modernisation is 'how can we get more people to be forced to pay', you only have to look at how they describe folks who stopped paying for a tv licence and the lengths they go to to force them to.

You still have this all wrong, the funding of the BBC is not something the BBC decides it is driven by Government every ten years when the BBC's public service broadcasting charter is up for renewal, the BBC is the governments current chosen form of public service broadcaster and they choose to fund it using a license fee (which drives the associated process of chasing those without a license) but it is considering as part of the current charter renewal process alternative funding mechanisms as well as the overall remit of the public service broadcaster.

There's nothing ultimately stopping them from separating out different elements - tv, radio and online services and having different subscription/tier prices based on what you consume. 10 quid a month for a BBC tv licence that gives you access to BBC television content/iplayer, 3 quid for radio and 3 quid for online (BBC website access locked behind a paywall similar to the times, telegraph etc where you either link your one size fits all licence or registering and paying is your online version). Have a cheaper version based on what you require, wanna have the full whack, that's 15quid a month instead of £16, want radio and online, thats a fiver rather than 6quid etc. That in itself would probably require modernisation tho, as i believe the only tracker for the tv licence is by address rather than anything else tangible.

How do you make a radio station subscription, I'm not aware of the UK ever having had subscription radio and I don't think current radio sets have the necessary software/hardware to process such a thing? Similarly I don't think current freeview hardware installed in most homes has the ability to deliver this? Add to this that a subscription model is incompatible with a public service broadcaster, the whole point of which is to be able to reach as much of the population as possible which the BBC does pretty well at given the massive percentage (80+%) of UK adults accessing a BBC service weekly.

The big thing you seem to be consistently getting wrong is equating the BBC with commercial television companies, the BBC in it's current format only exists as a statutory public service broadcaster established by the UK government. The decision you are getting at is does the UK need a public service broadcaster and I think any decision to in effect close the BBC (it is not currently a commercial company) and transfer it's assets to a private company would need to be part of a parties election manifesto as it would be a massive cultural change that could never easily be reversed.

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[C Kent]

You still have this all wrong, the funding of the BBC is not something the BBC decides it is driven by Government

Ah yes, the old the bbc has no input whatsoever schtick

every ten years when the BBC's public service broadcasting charter is up for renewal, the BBC is the governments current chosen form of public service broadcaster and they choose to fund it using a license fee (which drives the associated process of chasing those without a license) but it is considering as part of the current charter renewal process alternative funding mechanisms as well as the overall remit of the public service broadcaster.

yes i know what the charter is and when its up for renewal (I did find it amusing when you were getting the dates wrong previously in this thread though )

How do you make a radio station subscription, I'm not aware of the UK ever having had subscription radio and I don't think current radio sets have the necessary software/hardware to process such a thing? Similarly I don't think current freeview hardware installed in most homes has the ability to deliver this?

Same way the tv licence is currently administered and paid for, 'if you listen to the radio that'll be 3 quid pls'. If you want it to be free and not a part of the licence fee like it is now I would have no issue with that either.

Add to this that a subscription model is incompatible with a public service broadcaster, the whole point of which is to be able to reach as much of the population as possible which the BBC does pretty well at given the massive percentage (80+%) of UK adults accessing a BBC service weekly.

Amusingly the source for the "massive percentage of UK adults accessing a BBC service weekly" is the bbc itself and its basically 'trust us bro' - nope not joking, there have been multiple FOI requests made to the bbc for the raw data and they they are unable to provide it for "reasons"..

The big thing you seem to be consistently getting wrong is equating the BBC with commercial television companies, the BBC in it's current format only exists as a statutory public service broadcaster established by the UK government. The decision you are getting at is does the UK need a public service broadcaster and I think any decision to in effect close the BBC (it is not currently a commercial company) and transfer it's assets to a private company would need to be part of a parties election manifesto as it would be a massive cultural change that could never easily be reversed.

.

No one is getting anything wrong, we're fully aware what the bbc is. The bone of contention is essentially 'is the bbc fit for purpose in its current iteration'. You think it is, I think it isnt. I personally would have no issue if the whole rotten, corrupt, pedo covering institution was burnt to the ground. What I am doing is suggesting a middle ground where everyone is happy, folks such as yourself who think its essential are covered, and those who dont have any use for it are covered.